Nurse guilty of date rape killing

Kevin Cobb was arrested following a complaint from a patient

A nurse has been found guilty of seven charges of manslaughter, rape and drugging women.

Kevin Cobb, 38, from Yateley, Hampshire, had denied all the charges during the four-week trial at the Old Bailey.

Judge Martin Stephens, who remanded Cobb in custody for psychiatric reports, said he could expect "an extremely long prison sentence".

One man, employed as a nurse, used his privileged position for evil purposes

Robin Hollingsworth, St Peter's NHS Trust

Cobb was convicted of the manslaughter of nursing sister Susan Annis, two rapes, and of giving women the anaesthetic Midazolam in order to rape them.

In a statement, Miss Annis's parents, Audrey and David, said: "We never accepted that she died of natural causes, and we now know what happened. Now at last we can put our daughter to rest."

The prosecution said Cobb used the stupefying drug Midazolam to rape or indecently assault patients at St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey, Surrey, where he worked in the casualty department.

The Medical Director of the hospital's NHS Trust, Robin Hollingsworth, said Cobb had used his position for "evil purposes", damaging the reputation of the hospital and the relationship between nurses and patients.

Cobb was sacked from his job during the police inquiry.

Cobb denied killing nursing sister Susan Annis

Detective Superintendent David Cook, of Surrey Police, appealed for anyone else who may have been abused to come forward, saying there could be many more victims.

Cobb singled out attractive, confident career women in their early 30s and appeared to thrive on assaulting his victims just yards from colleagues and other patients.

Susan Annis, aged 31, in November 1996, was found collapsed in her room at the nurses' home at the Royal Brompton Hospital, west London, while on a course with Cobb. Midazolam was later found in her body.

Cobb had spiked her cider when they were having a drink together, but instead of falling into a stupor - which would leave her helpless against a sexual assault by Cobb - Miss Annis became unable to breathe, and her heart stopped.

Alarm raised

But the nurse was not caught until a 33-year-old sales consultant raised the alarm last year. She went to A&E with stomach pains last January on 12 January, last year and was taken to a theatre room and injected by Cobb.

She drifted in and out of consciousness but was later able to remember enough to raise the alarm.

Her blood was taken and found to contain Midazolam. She had not been prescribed any medication by the hospital.

After Cobb's arrest, it was found that his uniform had traces of Midazolam in the pockets. A syringe containing traces of a sleeping drug was found at his home.

Appeal response

Police say it was a sign of Cobb's "cold and calculating" nature that he was not bothered by the fact the woman's boyfriend was anxiously waiting for her in another part of the department.

Following a public appeal, two other women came forward to say they had also been assaulted by Cobb.

The police appeal also brought a response from Dr John Parsley, a consultant at Crawley Hospital, West Sussex.

He told police Cobb had been present at the death of his friend Susan Annis, who had also been found to have Midazolam in her body. As a result, the inquiry into her death was re-opened.