NHS surgeon amputated own legs after watching sick ‘Eunuch Maker’ videos in £466k fraud
Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of bodily harm, which some readers may find distressing.
Last September, Neil Hopper was sentenced to 32 months in prison as he made fraudulent insurance claims after amputating his own legs.
The NHS vascular surgeon (who has since been struck off) also admitted three charges of possessing extreme pornographic images which depicted genital mutilation – relating to the EunuchMaker website.
Set to be explored in an Amazon Prime documentary, it was found that between 21 August 2018 and 4 December 2020, the Cornwall man had purchased videos from Marius Gustavson’s site. With it found Hopper had correspondence with the ‘Eunuch Maker’, the Norwegian man created videos where he would clamp and remove male genitalia.
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There was a ‘sexual interest’ involved in the motivation for his own amputation and Hopper went on to claim over £466,000 from insurers.
Last year, the court heard how Hopper had used dry ice to freeze his legs until they reached the point that they were no longer viable and required amputation
He went to claim to two insurance companies that his legs had been amputated due to illness rather than self-inflicted injury.
Hopper pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud by false representation relating to claims totalling £466,653.8.
The judge said: “In April 2019 you deliberately froze your lower legs causing direct damage using dry ice following instructions given by Mr Gustavson.
“You were admitted to hospital when you have the symptoms of sepsis well knowing what the medics will be looking out.
“You were in hospital for six weeks and after many tests and a variety of treatments the medics decided your feet could not be saved and they amputated on May 17.
“You subsequently made fraudulent insurance claims to Aviva and Old Mutual Wealth, receiving a total of £466,000 fraudulently by representing that the injuries were organic, caused by sepsis, when you caused the injury seemingly at least in part for sexual gratification.”
He was jailed for 22 months for the fraud charges and a further 10 months for the extreme images charges.
From 2013, Hopper was an employee at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust until he his March 2023 arrest, and his medical license was suspended.
At the time, a spokesperson for the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust said: "The charges do not relate to Mr Hopper's professional conduct and there has been no evidence to suggest any risk to patients.
"Former patients with any questions or concerns about their treatment can contact the Royal Cornwall Hospitals' patient experience team."
Hopper was identified following investigations into Gustavson, who once cooked human testicles to eat in a salad, had his own penis removed with a kitchen knife and froze his own leg so it was amputated.
Filming in his London flat, he netted more than £300,000 for 2017 and 2021 from his EunuchMaker website, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years in prison in 2024.
Hopper exchanged thousands of messages with Gustavson about his own lower leg amputations and how he had done it, including asking how much dry ice he used.
“It is evident from the messages that Mr Hopper wished to become an amputee and it was always something he had dreamt of,” prosecutor Nicholas Lee said.
“Something he has been obsessed with and had a sexual interest in becoming an amputee.”
An Amputation Obsession: The Monster and The Surgeon
Tomorrow (13 August), an Amazon Prime documentary lands exploring Hopper’s case.
The synopsis reads: “Vascular surgeon Neil Hopper, known for performing amputations, becomes a national symbol of hope after losing both legs to a mysterious illness.
“But when a whistleblower exposes an underground network devoted to extreme body modification, police uncover Hopper's hidden double life. As the investigation deepens, an extraordinary story of obsession, deception, fraud and dark secrets begins to unravel."
Topics: True Crime, Amazon Prime, UK News, Crime
Jess Battison