DrShipman said he had mentioned the possibility of a post mortem and said Mrs Mellor's relatives may not have heard because they were "completely stressed and in a state of shock".
When DrShipman was convicted of drugs offences in the 1970s, he was not struck off - although GMC leaders have indicated that a similar case might well have had a different outcome today.
Di Stefano - who has said his clients included serial killer Dr Harold Shipman and Serbian war criminal Slobodan Milosevic - did not react as the 25 guilty verdicts were delivered at London's Southwark Crown Court.