bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Associated Press

A male nurse who was convicted of killing two patients in Germany with overdoses of heart medication is now believed to have killed at least 86 people – and the true scale of his crimes could be even larger, investigators said on Monday.
Many of the deaths could have been prevented if health authorities had acted faster on their suspicions, said Johann Kuehme, police chief in the northwestern city of Oldenburg.
Niels Hoegel, now 40, was convicted in 2015 of two murders and two attempted murders at a hospital in the northwestern town of Delmenhorst. He was sentenced to life in prison. But prosecutors have long said they believe he killed many more people, last year putting the figure at 43 at least.
The crimes came to light after Hoegel was convicted of attempted murder in another case. Authorities subsequently investigated hundreds of deaths, exhuming bodies of former patients in Delmenhorst and nearby Oldenburg.
Danish inventor denies killing former SCMP reporter Kim Wall

Kuehme said on Monday that authorities have now unearthed evidence of 84 killings in addition to the ones for which Hoegel was convicted. The number of actual killings is likely higher because some possible victims were cremated, making it impossible to gather evidence, Kuehme added.
We must realise that the real dimension of the killings by Niels H. is likely many times worse
Johann Kuehme
“Eighty-four killings ... leave us speechless,” Kuehme told reporters. “And as if all that were not enough, we must realise that the real dimension of the killings by Niels H. is likely many times worse.”
The fact that the cases go back many years and people may struggle to remember the exact details of their loved ones’ deaths hinders authorities’ ability to determine an exact number, Kuehme said.
He faulted local health authorities for being slow to act.
Kuehme said Hoegel could have been stopped earlier “if the people responsible at the time, particularly at the Oldenburg clinic but also later in Delmenhorst, hadn’t hesitated to alert authorities”.

Authorities are already pursuing criminal cases against former staff at the two facilities.
Hoegel worked at the Oldenburg hospital from 1999 to 2002 and in Delmenhorst from 2003 to 2005.
Kuehme said other medical workers at Oldenburg were aware of an elevated number of resuscitations, and indications of possible wrongdoing by the nurse in Delmenhorst emerged as early as April 2003.
During his trial, Hoegel had said he intentionally brought about cardiac crises in some 90 patients in Delmenhorst because he enjoyed the feeling of being able to resuscitate them.
He later told investigators that he also killed patients in Oldenburg.
Prosecutors are expected to try Hoegel on at least some of the additional killings, but Germany’s judicial system does not allow for consecutive sentences, so future convictions will not affect his life term.
The identities of the suspected 84 victims have not been released. There was no immediate comment from any representatives of victims’ families.


German police left ‘speechless’ after finding killer nurse murdered ‘at least 86 patients’

Nurse Niels Hoegel covers his face while on trial in 2015. Photo: AP

Chief prosecutor Daniela Schiereck-Bohlmann informs about the investigation against the former nurse Niels H during a press conference in Oldenburg, northern Germany on August 28, 2017. The German male nurse jailed for life two years ago for killing two patients with lethal drug overdoses is now a suspect in at least 84 more murders, police said on August 28, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / dpa / Carmen Jaspersen / Germany OUT

Police president Johann Kuehme informs about the investigation against the former nurse Niels H during a press conference in Oldenburg, northern Germany on August 28, 2017. The German male nurse jailed for life two years ago for killing two patients with lethal drug overdoses is now a suspect in at least 84 more murders, police said on August 28, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / dpa / Carmen Jaspersen / Germany OUT

News

World

Europe

Niels Hoegel was convicted in 2015 of two murders and was sentenced to life in prison


German police left ‘speechless’ after finding killer nurse murdered ‘at least 86 patients’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Niels Hoegel was convicted in 2015 of two murders and was sentenced to life in prison

Niels Hoegel was convicted in 2015 of two murders and was sentenced to life in prison