NAIROBI, Kenya- German authorities are investigating whether a former nurse already serving a life sentence for murder could be connected to more than 100 additional patient deaths in western Germany.
The chief public prosecutor in Aachen, Katja Schlenkermann-Pitts, told the BBC that investigators were reviewing a “significant number of suspicious cases”, cautioning that the findings remain preliminary and may not all lead to charges.
The former palliative care nurse, who has not been publicly identified, was convicted in November last year by a regional court in Aachen of murdering 10 patients and attempting to murder 27 others.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Judges found that while working night shifts at a hospital in Würselen, the nurse administered excessive doses of sedatives and painkillers to seriously ill patients without medical justification.
Prosecutors said the drugs were sometimes given repeatedly, despite the nurse being aware of their potentially fatal effects.
The court concluded the crimes were motivated by personal discomfort and a desire to control his working environment during night shifts.
During the trial, the defendant denied the allegations, insisting he intended only to help patients sleep and did not believe the medication would be lethal given their medical conditions.
Prosecutors, however, described his conduct as showing irritation toward patients requiring intensive care and accused him of assuming control over matters of life and death.
The convictions covered offences committed between December 2023 and May 2024 at the Rhein-Maas Hospital in Würselen, where he had been employed since 2020.
Investigators say the newly flagged cases largely relate to earlier periods of his career.
As part of the expanded probe, authorities have ordered about 60 exhumations. Twenty-seven have already been completed, with dozens more pending.
Prosecutors said autopsy findings would determine whether further charges can be pursued, noting that some cases may ultimately be dropped.
Separately, prosecutors in Cologne are reviewing deaths linked to hospitals where the nurse worked before his transfer to Würselen. Two exhumations have been carried out so far, including patients who died in 2015 and 2018, with more ordered.
Officials in both Aachen and Cologne said preparations for possible additional charges are ongoing, though any new legal proceedings are unlikely to begin before 2027.
The case has drawn comparisons to that of Niels Högel, a former nurse sentenced to life imprisonment in 2019 for murdering 85 patients—believed to be the deadliest serial killer in modern German history.
By BBC.
