A palliative care nurse in Germany has been sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of the murder of 10 patients and attempted murder of 27 others.
Prosecutors alleged that the man, who has not been publicly named, injected his mostly elderly patients with painkillers or sedatives to ease his workload during overnight shifts.
The offences were committed between December 2023 and May 2024 in a hospital in Wuerselen, in western Germany.
Investigators are reported to be looking into several other suspicious cases during his career.
According to media outlet Agence France-Presse (AFP), the unnamed man had worked at the hospital in Wuerselen since 2020, after completing training as a nursing professional in 2007.
Prosecutors told a court in Aachen that he showed irritation and a lack of empathy to patients requiring a higher level of care, dubbing him a master of life and death.
The court was informed that he injected patients with large amounts of morphine and midazolam, a muscle relaxant, to alleviate his workload during night shifts.
He was arrested in 2024.
While sentencing him to life imprisonment, the court stated that the severity of his actions should prevent any chance for parole after 15 years.
He retains the right to appeal the verdict.
Prosecutors have indicated ongoing exhumations to uncover additional victims, which could lead to further trials.
This case bears similarity to that of former nurse Niels Högel, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2019 for murdering 85 patients at two hospitals in northern Germany by administering lethal doses of medication between 1999 and 2005.
Högel is recognized as one of the most prolific killers in modern German history.
