According to a spokesperson for the Aachen court, the crime was severe, meaning the nurse had little possibility of being released after 15 years, the minimum time allowed for a life sentence in the country.
When the court imposed the life sentence, it stated that the man’s offences had a ‘particular severity of guilt’ that would prevent him from being released early after 15 years. The man will be able to appeal the verdict.The 44-year-old man was accused by prosecutors of playing ‘master of life and death’ over those in his care, adding that he showed ‘irritation’ and a lack of empathy to patients, as per a report in the BBC. The nurse was arrested in 2024.
After completing his training as a nursing professional in 2007 and working for several employers, the unnamed man had been employed at the hospital in Würselen since 2020.
In a conversation with AFP, prosecutors said that exhumations were taking place to identify further victims and that the man may be put on trial again.
The recent case can be compared to that of former nurse Niels Högel, who was sentenced to life in 2019 after being convicted of murdering 85 patients at two northern German hospitals.
Between 1999 and 2005, he gave lethal amounts of cardiac medication to persons in his care, the court found. He is widely regarded as the most prolific killer in contemporary German history.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
