German Nurse Convicted of Killing 10 People Possibly Involved in 100 More Deaths
A former nurse in Germany who was convicted of killing 10 patients may be connected to over 100 additional deaths.
Chief prosecutor Katja Schlenkermann-Pitts told the BBC this week that the ex-nurse, who has not been identified publicly, could be connected to "a correspondingly high number of suspicious cases" that are currently being reviewed.
Schlenkermann-Pitts also said some of the cases may be thrown out if forensic evidence indicates the nurse was not involved.
The man was accused of killing at least 10 people, maybe many more
The court found that during December 2023 and May 2024, the palliative care nurse administered mostly elderly and severely ill patients with sedatives and/or painkillers to make his night shifts easier to get through. The man began working at a hospital in Wuerselen in 2020.
According to prosecutors, the man "injected patients with large doses of morphine and midazolam, a muscle relaxant, in an effort to reduce his workload during night shifts." They also argued that in some cases, the drugs were delivered more than once, and that the man knew how fatal the drugs could be.
The former nurse denied the allegations and insisted, "he had intended to help patients sleep and had not believed the medication posed a lethal risk given their underlying illnesses," per the BBC.
He was arrested in 2024 and sentenced to a life sentence.
The new allegations date back to 2018
The new allegations against the former nurse date back to his time at a different hospital in Cologne, Germany. Investigators have so far ordered more than 60 exhumations, 27 of which have already taken place. Another 30 or so are pending, and the former nurse may face additional charges.
The case is reminiscent of the 2019 trial of Niels Högel, who was convicted of killing 85 patients at two different hospitals between 1995 and 2005. Per the BBC, prosecutors in the case argued Högel "attacked patients in order to impress colleagues by subsequently trying to revive them."
Högel confessed to 55 murders and was ultimately convicted of 85. He was only stopped because another medical professional at the caught him giving a patient unprescribed medication. He injected patients with ajmaline, amiodarone and sotalol to induce heart attacks.
"It was the clinical daily routine which failed to challenge me," Högel told the court. He worked at both the Oldenburg Clinic and a second clinic in Delmenhorst. Ultimately, authorities exhumed at least 130 bodies from cemeteries throughout Germany and nearby countries to test for the drugs Högel used.
“The death toll is unique in the history of the German republic,” chief investigator Arne Schmidt said at the time. Högel is considered one of the country's most prolific killers and was nicknamed Resuscitation Rambo.