An ex-nurse convicted of murdering 10 patients in western Germany may be linked to more than 100 additional deaths, an official has said. The chief public prosecutor in Aachen, Katja Schlenkermann-Pitts, told the BBC that there was 'a correspondingly high number of suspicious cases' under review. She cautioned that the cases represented preliminary suspicions and that some could be dismissed following forensic examination.
In November last year, a regional court in Aachen convicted the former palliative care nurse, who has not been publicly named, of 10 counts of murder and 27 counts of attempted murder, sentencing him to life imprisonment.
The court found that during night shifts at a hospital in Würselen, the man had administered excessive doses of sedatives and painkillers to seriously ill patients without medical justification. Prosecutors said the drugs were sometimes given repeatedly and that the defendant was aware of the potentially fatal consequences. Judges concluded that the actions were driven by personal unease and a desire to impose order during night shifts.
The defendant denied the charges during the trial, stating that he had intended to help patients sleep and had not believed the medications posed a lethal risk given their underlying illnesses. However, prosecutors told the court that he showed 'irritation' and a lack of empathy towards patients requiring more care and accused him of playing 'master of life and death'.
The offences examined in the initial trial occurred between December 2023 and May 2024, and the newly identified suspected cases relate largely to earlier periods. Investigators have ordered around 60 exhumations, with 27 already carried out.
Further investigations are underway as prosecutors look into deaths linked to hospitals where the nurse worked before his transfer to Würselen. Similarities have been drawn between this case and that of former nurse Niels Högel, who was convicted of murdering 85 patients and is considered one of Germany's most notorious killers.
In November last year, a regional court in Aachen convicted the former palliative care nurse, who has not been publicly named, of 10 counts of murder and 27 counts of attempted murder, sentencing him to life imprisonment.
The court found that during night shifts at a hospital in Würselen, the man had administered excessive doses of sedatives and painkillers to seriously ill patients without medical justification. Prosecutors said the drugs were sometimes given repeatedly and that the defendant was aware of the potentially fatal consequences. Judges concluded that the actions were driven by personal unease and a desire to impose order during night shifts.
The defendant denied the charges during the trial, stating that he had intended to help patients sleep and had not believed the medications posed a lethal risk given their underlying illnesses. However, prosecutors told the court that he showed 'irritation' and a lack of empathy towards patients requiring more care and accused him of playing 'master of life and death'.
The offences examined in the initial trial occurred between December 2023 and May 2024, and the newly identified suspected cases relate largely to earlier periods. Investigators have ordered around 60 exhumations, with 27 already carried out.
Further investigations are underway as prosecutors look into deaths linked to hospitals where the nurse worked before his transfer to Würselen. Similarities have been drawn between this case and that of former nurse Niels Högel, who was convicted of murdering 85 patients and is considered one of Germany's most notorious killers.
