March 29, 2024

Nurse may have killed at least 90 in German nursing homes

The real dimension of the killings by Niels Högel is likely many times worse, say police

Niels Högel / EuroNews  

A male nurse may have killed scores of patients in nursing homes in northern Germany. Niels Högel was given a life sentence in 2015 after he confessed to the murders of about 30 people at two clinics. Even at the time police suspected that he was responsible for more deaths.

Evidence for these has emerged now after they exhumed and examined 134 bodies. It appears that Högel had given a number of them a lethal injection. Although the total will never be known, as a number of patients were cremated, it appears that he killed at least 90. This makes him the worst serial killer in Germany’s criminal history.  

Police Chief Johann Kühme said that he was speechless. “And as if all that were not enough, we must realize that the real dimension of the killings by Högel is likely many times worse.” 

Högel will be tried again for the newly-discovered murders.

Several senior medical staff at one of the clinics are also facing manslaughter charges for neglecting to investigate the high number of suspicious deaths when Högel was on duty. Investigations are continuing at the other clinic. 

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