'Irritated' nurse killed 10 patients and tried to murder 27 more so he could work less

A nurse was given a life sentnce for murdering his patients (Image: Getty)

A court in Germany handed down a life sentence to a nurse found guilty of killing 10 patients and attempting to murder another 27 in order to reduce his workload. The offences were committed over a six month period between December 2023 and May 2024 at a hospital in Wuerselen near Aachen, a city in western Germany.

The 44-year-old defendant was accused by prosecutors of playing "master of life and death" over those in his care. The nurse injected his mostly elderly patients with large doses of sedatives or painkillers so as to have less work to do during his shift, prosecutors argued. They added he was suffering from a personality disorder and had shown no remorse or compassion for his victims throughout the trial.

The lethal injections contained morphine and midazolam, a muscle relaxant sometimes used for executions in the United States.

The defendant was described as working "without enthusiasm" and "with no motivation" by the prosecution.

He was also said to have shown "irritation" and a lack of empathy towards patients requiring greater care and help.

The 44-year-old has worked for various employers in Germany since completing his nursing exams in 2007. He had been working at the hospital in Wuerselen since 2020, before his arrest in 2024 on suspicion of murder.

The nurse may face further murder charges, as prosecutors continue their investigations into his crimes.

They plan to exhume a number of bodies of other patients at the hospital to establish whether they were also victims of murder.

The court ruled that the crimes carried a "particular severity of guilt" and that the defendant was unlikely to be allowed early release after 15 years.

Unfortunately cases involving healthcare workers murdering their patients are not rare. A 41-year-old nurse in America pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and 19 counts of attempted murder last year.

Heather Pressdee was charged with giving excessive amounts of insulin to 22 patients, including some who weren't diabetic during overnight shifts when few people were working.

She was sentenced to 380-760 years in prison. The nurse is believed to be repsonsible for the deaths of at least 17 people aged between 43 to 104 years.