A POLICE chief has said that it will probably never be known the number of patients who could have fallen victim to nurse Anne Grigg-Booth.

Mrs Grigg-Booth, 52, who was charged with the murder of three elderly patients at Airedale General Hospital, was found dead at her home on Monday.

She had always denied the allegations and had been due to stand trial at Leeds Crown Court next year.

Det Supt Phil Sedgwick, who led the West Yorkshire Police investigation, said they had looked at a lot of deaths at the hospital, but it was eventually decided to go ahead with three murder charges.

Asked whether the nurse could have claimed more victims, he said: "She could have. We will never know. It is a very unsatisfactory ending."

He added: "The police and the Crown Prosecution Service believe she committed these offences but there will not be the chance to prove that in court."

Mrs Grigg-Booth was charged with the murders of Jane Driver on July 24 2000, Eva Blackburn on November 13 2001 and Annie Midgley on July 22 2002. The night matron was also accused of the attempted murder of Michael Parker, 42, in June 2002.

In addition, she faced 13 charges of administering noxious substances to other patients between June 2000 and July 2002.

Mrs Grigg-Booth was living in Cowling at the time of the investigation, but later moved to Nelson. She was charged in September 2004 and was due to go on trial in April.

The investigation at Airedale followed a routine audit of deaths.

After studying patient records, health bosses contacted West Yorkshire detectives who launched the investigation into the way the senior nurse administered morphine to patients.

Mrs Grigg-Booth had worked at Airedale for 25 years and stopped working there in February 2003.

Detectives confirmed this week that they were investigating the nurse's death but said it was not being treated as suspicious.

An inquest was opened and adjourned yesterday (Thursday).

It was confirmed Mrs Grigg-Booth, of Henry Street, Nelson, was found by police in the living room of her home at 1.40am on Monday. The alarm had been raised by concerned neighbours.

The inquest was adjourned by East Lancashire District coroner Richard Taylor for toxicology and histological reports, but third party involvement was ruled out.

Speaking earlier in the week, Michael Howarth, who lived next door, said she had been treated at hospital for an apparent fall on Saturday night and was allowed to return home.

"The next thing we knew no-one had seen her all day and we phoned the police to check if she was all right and they found her dead," he added.

An Airedale General Hospital spokesman said: "We were sorry to learn of Anne's death and offer our condolences to her family."

But the sister of one of her alleged murder victims condemned her as "evil".

Eva Blackburn's sister, Amy Newham, said the death of the former night matron had robbed her family of the chance to find out why the 75-year-old widow died.

Mrs Newham, 83, said: "I've never been glad that someone has died before, but I am in this case. She might have been evil, that's all you can say."

However staff nurse Gwyneth Trout, who worked with Mrs Grigg-Booth, told of her disbelief over the charges against her.

Mrs Trout, 45, was one of the patients to whom Mrs Grigg-Booth was charged with administering noxious substances.

She said she was given pethadone in June 2002 by Mrs Grigg-Booth while she was waiting to see a doctor for abdominal pains but she did not believe she was trying to poison her.

Mrs Trout said: "She was trying her best to ease the pain - never did I think she was doing anything to harm me. I'd be shocked if those were her intentions."

Mrs Trout added: "I was waiting for the trial to clear things up. But now I will always wonder what happened that night."

It has been revealed that an independent inquiry will be held into the deaths of three women under Mrs Grigg-Booth's care.

The inquiry, led by a top lawyer, will also consider circumstances surrounding the alleged attempted murder and the 13 charges of administering noxious substances.

The inquiry will be held by West Yorkshire Strategic Health Authority (WYSHA) in conjunction with Airedale NHS Trust and its findings will be made public.

A WYSHA spokesman said: "The inquiry will look into issues raised by both the trust's internal investigation and a police investigation."

The spokesman said the terms of the inquiry would be agreed by the WYSHA, which would receive a report including any recommendations at a public board meeting.