German Nurse Sentenced to Life for Killing 10 Patients

A German nurse who prosecutors said killed his patients in order to lighten his workload during evening shifts has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering 10 of them and attempting to kill 27 others. The court in Aachen ruled that the unnamed 44-year-old palliative care worker, who carried out the crimes at a hospital in Wuerselen in western Germany between December 2023 and May 2024, will not be eligible for release after 15 years—as is typical—due to the "particular severity of guilt," reports CBS News.

He was found to have injected mostly elderly patients with lethal doses of morphine and midazolam. Prosecutors described the nurse as lacking empathy and motivation, noting that he displayed no remorse throughout the trial and was diagnosed with a personality disorder. They alleged he routinely became irritated when he was assigned patients who required more care than usual. The nurse had been working at the Wuerselen hospital since 2020; authorities have conducted exhumations to determine if there may be additional victims, and further charges could be brought.