– A 44-year-old nurse has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering 10 patients and attempting to kill 27 others by injecting them with lethal doses of sedatives and painkillers to reduce her workload during night shifts at a hospital in Wuerselen, near Aachen in western Germany.
The nurse, identified only as Daniel K., was convicted on 10 counts of murder and 27 counts of attempted murder following a two-year trial at the Aachen state court. Prosecutors accused him of playing “master of life and death” over vulnerable elderly patients, administering high doses of morphine and midazolam—a muscle relaxant used in executions in the United States—without medical justification.
The crimes, committed between 2015 and 2017 while working at the Clemenshospital and later at the St. Marien Hospital, came to light after colleagues noticed an unusually high number of deaths on his shifts. Investigations revealed K. had killed 10 patients and attempted to murder 27 more, often targeting those with chronic illnesses to “lighten his duties.”
Judge Michael Trautmann described the acts as “cold-blooded and incomprehensible,” noting K.’s lack of remorse during the trial. “You abused your position of trust to end lives for your convenience,” Trautmann said.
K. denied the charges, claiming the deaths were natural, but forensic evidence, including toxicology reports, confirmed the injections. The case, one of Germany’s most shocking serial killings, has prompted calls for stricter oversight in hospitals.
