A German palliative nurse has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of murdering 10 patients and attempting to kill 27 others through lethal injections, a German court announced on Wednesday.
According to prosecutors, the nurse whose name was not disclosed in line with German privacy laws administered painkillers and sedatives to his mostly elderly patients in order to reduce his workload during night shifts at a clinic near Aachen, in western Germany.
Court officials said the case was classified as “particularly severe,” meaning the convict will have little chance of parole after serving the minimum 15 years of a life sentence.
The crimes occurred between December 2023 and May 2024, marking one of the most disturbing cases of medical abuse in recent years.
Further investigations underway
Investigators are now examining other suspicious deaths linked to the nurse’s career at various medical facilities, according to German media reports.
This case has drawn comparisons to Germany’s worst post-war killing spree, when a former nurse, Niels Högel, was jailed for life in 2019 for murdering 85 patients.
The latest verdict can still be appealed, the court noted.
Context: Medical murders in Germany
Germany has faced several high-profile cases of healthcare professionals abusing their positions of trust. The government has since introduced stricter oversight and reporting systems for hospitals and nursing homes, but experts say staff shortages and burnout continue to pose risks in palliative and elderly care facilities.
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