On November 5, 2025, the Aachen Regional Court in western Germany delivered a landmark verdict, sentencing a 44-year-old palliative care nurse to life imprisonment for the murder of 10 patients and the attempted murder of 27 others. The court determined that the crimes exhibited a "particular severity of guilt," effectively barring the defendant from eligibility for parole after the standard 15-year minimum under German law. Prosecutors portrayed the nurse as a cold, unmotivated caregiver who played "master of life and death," injecting vulnerable, mostly elderly patients with lethal overdoses of sedatives and painkillers to ease his workload during night shifts.
The offenses occurred between December 2023 and May 2024 at the Rhein-Maas-Klinikum in Würselen, a town near Aachen. The nurse, whose identity remains protected under German privacy laws and who is referred to only by initials like Ulrich S. in some media reports, administered high doses of morphine and midazolam—a muscle relaxant also used in U.S. executions—to patients on the hospital's palliative care unit. These drugs caused respiratory failure, leading to death in 10 cases and near-fatal complications in 27 others. Originally indicted on nine murders and 34 attempts, the court reclassified one attempted murder as a completed act during the trial, which began in March 2025.
Court documents and witness testimonies painted a disturbing picture of the nurse's demeanor. He was described as suffering from a severe personality disorder, displaying "irritation and lack of empathy" toward high-needs patients, and working "without enthusiasm, with no motivation." Throughout the proceedings, he showed no remorse, denying any intent to kill and claiming his injections were meant to alleviate suffering. Defense attorneys sought acquittal, arguing the overdoses were palliative errors rather than deliberate acts, but the court rejected this, citing forensic evidence of unauthorized, excessive dosing.
The nurse's professional background added layers to the case. He completed nursing training in 2007 and held positions at various facilities, including in Cologne, before joining the Würselen hospital in 2020. Colleagues from prior employers testified to similar suspicious patterns, belastening him further. Arrested in summer 2024 after a spike in unexplained deaths triggered an internal review, he became the focus of a major investigation.
Authorities have exhumed multiple bodies to test for additional victims, and prosecutors have signaled a likely second trial. Investigators are scrutinizing dozens of suspicious incidents from his earlier career, with the Aachen public prosecutor's office preparing new charges. During closing arguments, the state attorney alleged up to 13 completed murders, though the court convicted on 10.
This case has evoked chilling memories of Niels Högel, Germany's most prolific postwar serial killer in healthcare. Högel, another nurse, received a life sentence in 2019 for murdering 85 patients between 2000 and 2005 by injecting them to induce cardiac arrests, then attempting resuscitations for heroic acclaim. Like Högel, the Würselen nurse exploited trust in palliative settings, where deaths are expected, delaying detection.
The verdict has sparked national outrage and calls for systemic reforms in Germany's healthcare oversight. Palliative wards, designed for end-of-life comfort, house fragile patients reliant on staff integrity. Experts note that understaffing and lax medication protocols can enable such abuses. Hospital administrators at Rhein-Maas-Klinikum faced scrutiny for ignoring early red flags, such as clustered nighttime fatalities.
Victim families, some joined as co-plaintiffs, expressed profound grief. One relative described a loved one as "full of life goals despite illness," only to succumb inexplicably. The court heard how patients, aged primarily in their 70s and 80s, were injected without consent or medical justification, solely to allow the nurse uninterrupted shifts—time, prosecutors said, for "phone games."
In a parallel development underscoring vulnerabilities in end-of-life care, a separate trial unfolded in Berlin involving 40-year-old palliative specialist Johannes M. Charged in April 2025 and standing trial since July, he faces accusations of murdering 15 patients (12 women, three men) between 2021 and 2024 using sedative cocktails. Prosecutors allege a "lust for murder" motive, with Johannes M. setting fire to victims' homes on five occasions to destroy evidence. Fires failed in some instances, preserving clues. A coworker raised alarms over recurrent blazes among his patients.
Johannes M., a former radiologist turned palliative expert, worked for mobile home-care services in districts like Kreuzberg and Neukölln. Victims ranged from 25 to 94 years old. On July 8, 2024, he allegedly killed two in one day—a 75-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman hours later. Over 70 additional cases, including his mother-in-law's death in Poland, remain under review. His 2013 doctoral thesis on Frankfurt homicides ironically opened with "Why do people kill?"
The Berlin trial, expected to run until January 2026, seeks a lifetime medical ban alongside conviction. Johannes M. has refused psychiatric evaluation, forcing court observation.
These concurrent cases highlight a dark underbelly in German palliative medicine. From Högel's 85 victims to these recent scandals, over 100 deaths are linked to rogue caregivers since 2000. Advocacy groups demand mandatory double-checks for high-risk drugs, AI-monitored dosing, and psychological screening for night-shift staff.
As exhumations continue in Würselen and Berlin probes expand, the Aachen nurse's life sentence serves as a stark deterrent. Yet, for bereaved families, justice offers scant solace against betrayed trust in those sworn to heal. The verdict, appealable, underscores Germany's resolve against medical serial killers, but ongoing investigations suggest the full toll may yet rise.
