The verdict was handed down today by the District Court in Aachen, which determined the special gravity of the guilt, which means that early release after 15 years is practically excluded. The court thus fully accepted the state prosecutor’s request, writes the German portal BR.de.
The crimes took place during 2023 and 2024 at the hospital in Würselen. According to the indictment, the technician mostly gave very old patients strong sedatives or painkillers. His goal was, as stated, to soothe patients who required intensive care, so that he would have as little work as possible during the night shifts. After giving them the medicine, he would leave the room and leave them unattended.
Although he was initially accused of nine murders and 34 attempts, the court reclassified another case as completed murder during the proceedings. According to the investigators, the convict was considered experienced and professionally competent.
He probably committed more crimes
He completed training as a medical technician in 2007, after which he worked for several employers, including in Cologne. He was employed at the clinic in Würselen since 2020, and was arrested in the summer of 2024.
During the trial, which has been ongoing since March, the 44-year-old German denied the charges. He claims he did not give the patients drugs with the intention of shortening their lives, and his lawyers sought an acquittal.
It is possible that the convicted technician is responsible for even more crimes. Investigators are currently looking into a number of other suspicious cases from his previous jobs. The State Prosecutor’s Office in Aachen has already announced that another indictment will probably be filed against him.
This is not the only such case
Cases like this in Germany often fill the media columns. A palliative care doctor who allegedly killed at least 15 patients is currently on trial in Berlin.
Nevertheless, the case of former medical technician Niels Högel from Lower Saxony is considered the largest series of murders in post-war Germany. In 2019, he was sentenced to life in prison for 85 murders, and his motive has never been fully clarified.
(Vijesti.ba)
