German killer nurse suspected in at least 84 patient deaths, say police

A German nurse serving a life sentence for
murdering two patients may have killed up to 84
more, police say.
Niels Hoegel, 40, was jailed in February 2015 for
killing two intensive care patients at the Delmenhorst
hospital near the northern city of Bremen.
His crimes came to light after he was convicted of
attempted murder in another case, which led
authorities to investigate hundreds of deaths and
exhume bodies of his former patients from
Delmenhorst and the nearby Oldenburg hospital.
Prosecutors have always believed he killed more
people, putting the estimated figure at 43 in 2016.
However, police now say investigators exhuming and
analysing more bodies have found evidence of "84
more murders", which would make Hoegel one of
Germany's worst ever serial killers.
And the number could be even greater as some
suspected victims were cremated, prosecutors say.
Hoegel would inject patients with an overdose of
unprescribed heart medication in order to revive them
and show off his nursing skills, a court heard during
his initial trial.
He reportedly said he felt overjoyed when he received
praise for bringing a patient back from the brink of
death.
Oldenburg police chief Johann Kuehme said: "Eighty-
four killings... leave us speechless.
"And as if all that were not enough, we must realise
that the real dimension of the killings by Niels is
likely many times worse."
Authorities are pursuing criminal cases against
former staff as they believe many of the deaths
could have been prevented "if the people responsible
at the time" had been quicker to alert authorities

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