Beverley Gail Allitt was born on October 4, 1968. She grew up in Corby Glen, a small village near Grantham in Lincolnshire, England. Beverley was the middle child in her family, with two sisters and a brother. Her father, Richard, worked in an off-licence, which is a store that sells alcohol, and her mother was a school cleaner.

As a child, Beverley attended the Charles Read Secondary Modern School. She did not pass the entrance exam to go to Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School, which was a more prestigious school. Despite this setback, she was involved in her community. She often volunteered to babysit for neighbors and family friends. Beverley left school at age 16. After that, she took a nursing course at Grantham College. 

Beverley Gail Allitt attacked thirteen children while working as a nurse at Grantham and Kesteven Hospital in Lincolnshire between February and April 1991. During this time, four of the children died. The medical staff began to suspect something unusual was happening after the death of a girl named Becky Phillips, as many children were experiencing unexpected cardiac arrests.

Investigation revealed that Allitt was the only nurse on duty during all the incidents. She had access to the medications and substances used in the attacks. In total, Allitt faced multiple charges, including four counts of murder, eleven counts of attempted murder, and eleven counts of causing grievous bodily harm. She pleaded not guilty to all charges.

In May 1993, the court found her guilty on all counts. She was sentenced to thirteen concurrent life sentences, indicating that she would likely never be released. Allitt was transferred to Rampton Secure Hospital after a brief stay in prison, where she reportedly refused to eat or drink.

Experts later examined Allitt’s mental state and concluded that she was not mentally ill. They believed she should face imprisonment rather than being in a hospital. In a failed application to stay at Rampton, Allitt allegedly confessed to all her crimes. However, the families of the victims were not informed of this confession.

In December 2007, the High Court ordered her to serve a minimum sentence of thirty years. Her minimum tariff expired in November 2021, which made her eligible for parole. Allitt's motivations for her actions have never been fully understood, though one theory suggests she exhibited signs of a disorder that involves causing harm to others to gain attention.

On October 3, 2023, reports indicated that Allitt would appear before a mental health tribunal to discuss her possible transfer to a mainstream prison. If this transfer occurs, she could be eligible for parole after six months.