German Nurse Awaits Verdict Over Alleged Murder of 13 Patients
Prosecutors claim the nurse, who was not publicly named during the trial, acted as a “master of life and death” by injecting mostly elderly patients with excessive doses of sedatives and painkillers to reduce his workload during night shifts
A German court is set to deliver its verdict on Wednesday in the case of a 44-year-old hospital nurse accused of murdering 13 patients in a palliative care ward by administering lethal injections
Prosecutors claim the nurse, who was not publicly named during the trial, acted as a “master of life and death” by injecting mostly elderly patients with excessive doses of sedatives and painkillers to reduce his workload during night shifts
They further alleged that he suffered from a personality disorder, showed no empathy, and displayed no remorse throughout the proceedings. The prosecution is seeking a life sentence and a ruling of “particular severity of guilt,” which would deny him the possibility of early release
The defence, however, has called for his acquittal. The trial, which began in March, initially centered on nine murder and 34 attempted murder charges before being expanded to include 13 alleged murders and 24 attempts
The crimes are said to have occurred between December 2023 and May 2024 at a hospital in Wuerselen, near Aachen. The court heard that he used morphine and midazolam a drug sometimes employed in executions in the United States to sedate patients for convenience
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This case has drawn parallels to that of Niels Hoegel, a German nurse convicted in 2019 for murdering 85 patients, making him one of the country’s worst serial killers. In a similar incident, a Berlin palliative care specialist went on trial in July, accused of killing 15 patients between 2021 and 2024
The verdict in the current case is expected at noon in the regional court of Aachen
Writer : Mweru Mbugua
