The court in Aachen said the man’s crimes carried a “particular severity of guilt,” barring early release after 15 years. He will be able to appeal the verdict.
Apalliative care nurse in Wuerselen, western Germany, has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of murdering 10 patients and attempting to kill 27 others.
The court in Aachen said the man’s crimes carried a “particular severity of guilt,” barring early release after 15 years. He will be able to appeal the verdict.
Prosecutors alleged that the man, who has not been publicly named, injected his mostly elderly patients with painkillers or sedatives in an effort to ease his workload during shifts overnight.
The offences occurred between December 2023 and May 2024 at the hospital, where the nurse had been employed since 2020, after completing nursing training in 2007, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Prosecutors told the court that he showed “irritation” and a lack of empathy to patients who required a higher level of care, and accused him of playing “master of life and death”.
The court heard that he injected patients with large doses of morphine and midazolam, a type of sedative, in an effort to reduce his workload during night shifts.
He was arrested in 2024. Prosecutors have said exhumations are taking place to identify further potential victims, which could see him put on trial again.
The case has drawn comparisons to former nurse Niels Högel, who was handed a life sentence in 2019 after being convicted of murdering 85 patients at two northern German hospitals.
A court found Högel administered lethal doses of heart medication to patients between 1999 and 2005, making him the most prolific killer in Germany’s modern history.
