Former nurse Niels Hoegel admitted Tuesday to killing 100 patients in his care, on the first day of his trial in the biggest serial killing case in Germany’s post-war history.
Hoegel, 41, has already spent nearly a decade in prison on a life term for other patient deaths, and is accused of intentionally administering medical overdoses to victims so he could bring them back to life at the last moment.
As the proceedings opened in the northern city of Oldenburg, presiding judge Sebastian Buehrmann asked whether the charges against him were accurate. Hoegel replied quietly “yes”.
“What I have admitted took place,” he told the courtroom crowded with dozens of grieving relatives.
Buehrmann said the main aim of the trial was to establish the full scope of the murder spree that was allowed to go unchecked for years at two German hospitals.
“It is like a house with dark rooms — we want to bring light into the darkness,” he said.
After a minute of silence in the courtroom for the victims, the bearded, heavyset Hoegel listened impassively, his head lowered, as public prosecutor Daniela Schiereck-Bohlmann read out the name of each dead patient and the charges against the defendant.
– ‘Little, vulnerable mass murderer’ –
Prosecutors say at least 36 patients were killed at a hospital in Oldenburg where he worked, and about 64 more at a clinic in nearby Delmenhorst, between 2000 and 2005.
More than 130 bodies of patients who died on Hoegel’s watch have been exhumed, in a case investigators have called “unprecedented in Germany to our knowledge”.
One of the more than 100 co-plaintiffs in the trial, Christian Marbach, said it was a scandal that Hoegel had been allowed to kill with impunity for such an extended period of time without hospital authorities or law enforcement intervening.
“They had everything they needed (to stop him) — you don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes,” Marbach, the grandson of one of the patients, told AFP.
Hoegel told the court he was “surprised” when a superior at the Oldenburg hospital asked him to resign in late 2002, saying he would get a positive recommendation and holiday pay if he left voluntarily.
“I felt bad, like I had been caught,” Hoegel said, adding however that he was never explicitly told why they wanted him gone.
Marbach said the defendant seemed remarkably composed as he admitted to the extraordinary list of killings.
“He looks like a little, vulnerable mass murderer.”
– 200 victims? –
Caught in 2005 while injecting an unprescribed medication into a patient in Delmenhorst, Hoegel was sentenced in 2008 to seven years in prison for attempted murder.
A second trial followed in 2014-15 under pressure from alleged victims’ families.
He was found guilty of murder and attempted murder of five other victims and given the maximum sentence of 15 years.
It was then that Hoegel confessed to his psychiatrist at least 30 more murders committed in Delmenhorst. That prompted investigators to take a closer look at suspicious deaths in Oldenburg.
Taking the stand Tuesday, Hoegel said he began taking painkillers shortly after becoming a nurse in 1999 as he felt overwhelmed by the stress of working in the intensive care unit.
“I should have quit,” he said.
Asked by the judge why he didn’t admit to the remaining murders before now, Hoegel said it was “out of shame” and because it took him a long time to face up to what he had done at the first hospital.
It was only through reading the court files and in therapy that “I started to recognise the full dimension”, he said.
Investigators say the final toll could top 200 but fear they might never know for sure because the bodies of many possible victims were cremated.
Hoegel appears to have followed a similar procedure each time, first injecting a medication that triggered cardiac arrest, followed by an often futile attempt at resuscitation.
Prosecutors say he was motivated by vanity, to show off his skills at saving human lives, and by simple “boredom”.
The choice of victim appears to have been entirely random, with their ages ranging from 34 to 96.
AFP.
175321 170441I discovered your blog on yahoo and can bookmark it currently. carry on the nice work. 398725
189737 715789Real fantastic details can be discovered on internet blog . 881828
468038 732189Highest quality fella toasts, or toasts. will most surely be given birth to product or service ? from the party therefore supposed to become surprising, humorous coupled with enlightening likewise. greatest man speaches 742849
I’ve been searching for hours on this topic and finally found your post. majorsite, I have read your post and I am very impressed. We prefer your opinion and will visit this site frequently to refer to your opinion. When would you like to visit my site?
“These Women High Heel Bridal Sandals are the epitome of elegance and style, adding a touch of glamour to any wedding ensemble!”
medicine in mexico pharmacies medicine in mexico pharmacies mexican pharmacy
reputable mexican pharmacies online mexico drug stores pharmacies best online pharmacies in mexico
http://mexicanph.shop/# medicine in mexico pharmacies
mexican drugstore online
mexican mail order pharmacies mexico pharmacies prescription drugs reputable mexican pharmacies online
mexican rx online mexican mail order pharmacies mexican pharmaceuticals online
https://mexicanph.shop/# mexican rx online
mexico pharmacies prescription drugs
mexican mail order pharmacies mexican mail order pharmacies mexican mail order pharmacies
medicine in mexico pharmacies mexican pharmaceuticals online mexico pharmacy
mexican pharmacy pharmacies in mexico that ship to usa mexican online pharmacies prescription drugs
https://mexicanph.com/# reputable mexican pharmacies online
buying from online mexican pharmacy
buying from online mexican pharmacy mexico pharmacies prescription drugs mexico drug stores pharmacies
mexican pharmaceuticals online mexican pharmaceuticals online purple pharmacy mexico price list
medication from mexico pharmacy best online pharmacies in mexico mexican rx online
http://mexicanph.com/# mexican border pharmacies shipping to usa
mexican drugstore online
mexican pharmaceuticals online mexican border pharmacies shipping to usa mexico drug stores pharmacies
reputable mexican pharmacies online mexican pharmacy best online pharmacies in mexico
pharmacies in mexico that ship to usa purple pharmacy mexico price list medicine in mexico pharmacies
medicine in mexico pharmacies pharmacies in mexico that ship to usa purple pharmacy mexico price list
mexican pharmacy mexico drug stores pharmacies medication from mexico pharmacy
mexico drug stores pharmacies purple pharmacy mexico price list mexican border pharmacies shipping to usa
mexico pharmacies prescription drugs best mexican online pharmacies buying prescription drugs in mexico
best online pharmacies in mexico buying prescription drugs in mexico online mexican online pharmacies prescription drugs
mexican drugstore online mexican pharmacy reputable mexican pharmacies online
medicine in mexico pharmacies medicine in mexico pharmacies best online pharmacies in mexico
purple pharmacy mexico price list mexico pharmacies prescription drugs mexican pharmacy
mexico drug stores pharmacies medication from mexico pharmacy mexican drugstore online
mexican pharmaceuticals online best online pharmacies in mexico buying from online mexican pharmacy
mexican pharmaceuticals online buying from online mexican pharmacy mexican drugstore online
buying prescription drugs in mexico online buying prescription drugs in mexico medicine in mexico pharmacies
mexico pharmacies prescription drugs purple pharmacy mexico price list medication from mexico pharmacy
pharmacies in mexico that ship to usa best online pharmacies in mexico mexico drug stores pharmacies
https://mexicanph.com/# medication from mexico pharmacy
buying prescription drugs in mexico
purple pharmacy mexico price list mexican drugstore online reputable mexican pharmacies online
best online pharmacies in mexico medicine in mexico pharmacies mexican pharmaceuticals online
mexican pharmaceuticals online mexico pharmacy mexican pharmacy
mexican border pharmacies shipping to usa buying from online mexican pharmacy purple pharmacy mexico price list
mexican pharmaceuticals online buying prescription drugs in mexico online buying prescription drugs in mexico
buying from online mexican pharmacy medicine in mexico pharmacies medication from mexico pharmacy
mexico drug stores pharmacies mexican rx online buying prescription drugs in mexico online
purple pharmacy mexico price list medication from mexico pharmacy mexico drug stores pharmacies
best online pharmacies in mexico mexico pharmacies prescription drugs buying prescription drugs in mexico
mexican pharmaceuticals online purple pharmacy mexico price list buying prescription drugs in mexico
buying from online mexican pharmacy buying prescription drugs in mexico mexican mail order pharmacies
mexico pharmacy mexico drug stores pharmacies medicine in mexico pharmacies
buying prescription drugs in mexico online mexican rx online mexico drug stores pharmacies
medicine in mexico pharmacies mexico pharmacies prescription drugs mexico drug stores pharmacies
reputable mexican pharmacies online mexican online pharmacies prescription drugs buying from online mexican pharmacy
mexican rx online best online pharmacies in mexico pharmacies in mexico that ship to usa
mexican mail order pharmacies buying prescription drugs in mexico mexico drug stores pharmacies
https://amoxil.cheap/# amoxicillin 500 mg where to buy
prednisone 10mg buy online: prednisone brand name in usa – prednisone for sale without a prescription
http://stromectol.fun/# buy ivermectin canada
http://buyprednisone.store/# can you buy prednisone
5 prednisone in mexico: generic over the counter prednisone – prednisone 5093
https://furosemide.guru/# furosemide 100 mg
http://stromectol.fun/# stromectol for head lice
how to get amoxicillin: amoxicillin cost australia – can we buy amoxcillin 500mg on ebay without prescription
http://furosemide.guru/# lasix furosemide
prednisone for sale: where to buy prednisone uk – buy prednisone tablets online
https://buyprednisone.store/# buying prednisone mexico
https://lisinopril.top/# price lisinopril 20 mg
medicine prednisone 5mg: buy prednisone 50 mg – can you buy prednisone over the counter uk
https://lisinopril.top/# drug prices lisinopril
https://lisinopril.top/# zestoretic 20 12.5