OLDENBURG, Germany — A former nurse who confessed to killing more than four dozen patients was found guilty on Thursday in Germany of murdering 85 people and was sentenced to life in prison, with the judge calling his crimes "incomprehensible."
It was the third conviction for the nurse, Niels Högel, who is believed to be the most prolific serial killer in peacetime Germany, and perhaps the world. But for the families of the 100 people he was accused of killing while in his care, the trial had aimed to serve as a form of belated justice by trying to find answers to why they had died.
The judge, Sebastian Bührmann, said of his findings, "Despite all of our attempts, we could only lift part of the fog."
In court, Mr. Högel sat with his head in his hand. The judge directly addressed him, repeatedly telling him that the scope of his crime was "incomprehensible."
Mr. Högel would resuscitate his patients after injecting them with deadly doses of medication, triggering a heart attack.
What a monster of a person. The fact that a medical professional did this makes it even more ghastly.
It was the third conviction for the nurse, Niels Högel, who is believed to be the most prolific serial killer in peacetime Germany, and perhaps the world. But for the families of the 100 people he was accused of killing while in his care, the trial had aimed to serve as a form of belated justice by trying to find answers to why they had died.
The judge, Sebastian Bührmann, said of his findings, "Despite all of our attempts, we could only lift part of the fog."
In court, Mr. Högel sat with his head in his hand. The judge directly addressed him, repeatedly telling him that the scope of his crime was "incomprehensible."
Mr. Högel would resuscitate his patients after injecting them with deadly doses of medication, triggering a heart attack.
What a monster of a person. The fact that a medical professional did this makes it even more ghastly.
