A former German nurse confessed to killing 30 hospital patients because he was "bored" and wanted to show off his resuscitation skills, a court has heard.
The 38-year-old, named only as Niels H, allegedly told a psychiatric expert that he injected patients with an overdose of heart medication before trying to save their lives at a hospital in Delmenhorst, near Bremen, where he worked.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
He was initially sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison in 2008 for attempted murder and is now accused of murdering three other patients and attempting to murder two more.
The psychiatric examiner told the court that Niels H had confessed to as many as 30 killings and, in a further 60 cases, he injected patients but managed to revive them.
But Kurt Schwender, a doctor who investigated the deaths, said Niels H might have been involved in the deaths of more than 100 patients.
He told the court that the use of the drug Gilurytmal at the clinic increased from around 50 to 75 times a year before Niels H's arrival in December 2002 to 225 times in 2003 and 380 in 2004.
"In 2003, 177 people died in intensive care and in 2004 there were 179 deaths. Normally, the mortality rate was 80 to 100 patients a year," he said.
If police and prosecutors could prove Niels H's involvement, this would make him modern Germany's most prolific serial killer, says The Times.
"The worst-known serial killer in modern Germany is another nurse, Stephan Letter, convicted in 2006 of 16 murders, 12 manslaughters and a killing on request," says the newspaper.
-
How are ICE’s recruitment woes complicating Trump’s immigration agenda?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Lowered training standards and ‘athletically allergic’ hopefuls are getting in the way of the White House plan to turn the Department of Homeland Security into a federal police force
-
What is a bubble? Understanding the financial term.the explainer An AI bubble burst could be looming
-
France makes first arrests in Louvre jewels heistSpeed Read Two suspects were arrested in connection with the daytime theft of royal jewels from the museum
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
