BERLIN — A German court on Wednesday handed a life sentence to a palliative nurse convicted of murdering 10 patients with lethal injections and attempting to kill 27 others.
The crimes, which took place between December 2023 and May 2024 at a clinic near Aachen in western Germany, shocked the nation. Prosecutors said the nurse gave mostly elderly patients painkillers or sedatives to make his nighttime workload easier.
A court spokesperson described the case as particularly severe, meaning the nurse is unlikely to be released after the minimum 15 years that can be served for a life sentence in Germany.
“This is one of the gravest cases we have seen,” the spokesperson said.
Investigators are reviewing other suspicious incidents from the nurse’s career, and the verdict can still be appealed.
This case echoes Germany’s darkest medical crimes: in 2019, another former nurse received a life sentence for killing 85 patients, marking the worst post-war killing spree in the country.
The chilling reminder is clear: even those entrusted with care can commit the unthinkable, leaving families and communities searching for answers.
