German nurse jailed for life for killing 10 patients to ease workload

German nurse jailed for life for killing 10 patients to ease workload

 A German court has sentenced a 44-year-old palliative care nurse to life imprisonment for the murder of 10 patients and the attempted murder of 27 others through lethal injections. The verdict was delivered on Wednesday by the court in Aachen, which found the man guilty of committing the crimes between December 2023 and May 2024 at a hospital in Wuerselen, near Aachen.

The court ruled that the offences carried a “particular severity of guilt,” effectively barring the possibility of parole after the standard 15-year minimum. Prosecutors accused the nurse—whose identity has not been publicly disclosed—of playing “master of life and death” over vulnerable patients in his care.

According to the prosecution, the nurse administered high doses of sedatives and painkillers, including morphine and midazolam, to mostly elderly patients during night shifts. The motive, they argued, was to reduce his workload rather than any medical necessity.

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“He showed no compassion, no remorse, and worked without enthusiasm or motivation,” prosecutors told the court, adding that the man suffered from a personality disorder.

The nurse, who began his career in 2007 and had worked in various facilities including Cologne, joined the Wuerselen hospital in 2020. He was arrested in the summer of 2024 following internal investigations and patient deaths that raised alarm.

Authorities revealed that exhumations have been conducted to identify additional victims, and the nurse could face further trials. The case has drawn comparisons to that of Niels Hoegel, a former nurse sentenced in 2019 for murdering 85 patients between 2000 and 2005, making him Germany’s most notorious serial killer.

The ruling comes amid heightened scrutiny of palliative care practices in Germany. In a separate case, a 40-year-old specialist identified by media as Johannes M. went on trial in Berlin in July, accused of killing 15 patients between 2021 and 2024. In at least five instances, he allegedly set fire to victims’ homes to conceal his crimes.

The latest conviction underscores growing concerns about oversight and accountability in healthcare settings, particularly in palliative and elderly care. German authorities continue to investigate systemic vulnerabilities that may have enabled such crimes to go undetected.

German nurse jailed for life for killing 10 patients to ease workload