A 44-year-old nurse in Germany has been handed a life sentence for murdering 10 patients and attempting to kill 27 others by administering lethal injections—actions prosecutors say he carried out simply to reduce his workload.
The unnamed nurse was found guilty of the offences committed between December 2023 and May 2024 while working at a hospital in Wuerselen, near Aachen in western Germany. Prosecutors accused him of acting as a self-appointed “master of life and death” over vulnerable patients under his care.
Investigators said he injected mostly elderly patients with dangerously high doses of sedatives and painkillers, including morphine and midazolam—a muscle relaxant also used in U.S. executions—so he could lighten his responsibilities during night shifts.
Throughout the trial, experts described him as having a severe personality disorder and exhibiting no trace of compassion or remorse. Prosecutors said he “worked without enthusiasm or motivation” and often displayed “irritation and a lack of empathy” toward patients needing intensive care.
The court ruled there was a “particular severity of guilt,” meaning he will be ineligible for early release after 15 years, a provision normally available under German law.
The nurse, who completed his training in 2007, had worked for several employers including in Cologne before joining the Wuerselen hospital in 2020. He was arrested in mid-2024 after an unusual number of sudden deaths in his ward raised suspicion.
Authorities have already exhumed several bodies to determine whether there are additional victims, leaving open the possibility of a second trial.
The case has drawn parallels to that of Niels Hoegel, a German nurse sentenced to life in 2019 for murdering 85 patients between 2000 and 2005—one of the worst serial killing cases in modern German history.
In a separate but related case, a 40-year-old palliative care specialist identified as Johannes M. went on trial in Berlin earlier this year, accused of killing 15 patients between 2021 and 2024. Prosecutors allege that in at least five instances, he set fire to the victims’ homes to cover up the crimes.
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