BERLIN: German nurse Niels Hoegel, already serving a lengthy term for previous killings, will go on trial before anguished relatives Tuesday over the murders of around 100 more people — a spree prosecutors say is unprecedented in the post-war period.
The 41-year-old is accused of intentionally administering medical overdoses to patients in his care in order to be able to bring them back to life at the last moment.
He rarely succeeded.
Prosecutors say at least 35 patients were killed at a hospital in the northern city of Oldenburg where he worked, and about 64 more in nearby Delmenhorst, between 2000 and 2005.
“I hope that he will be found guilty on each count so that the loved ones can finally find some closure,” said Petra Klein, who runs the local chapter of the victims’ aid group Weisser Ring.
Some 126 relatives will serve as co-plaintiffs in the new trial and are expected to fill the specially designated courtroom in Oldenburg, along with around 80 journalists.
For the accused — who fellow inmates say calls himself the most notorious criminal in Germany since the war — little will change.
“This investigation is really out of the ordinary,” said Arne Schmidt, director of the probe codenamed “Kardio” and created in 2014.
“We had to conduct 134 exhumations” of patients who died on Hoegel’s watch, Schmidt told AFP, calling the case “unprecedented in Germany to our knowledge.”
As the scope of the trail of corpses emerged, the victims’ loved ones have experienced an “incredible shock,” said Klein, whose organization has offered psychological care to the affected families.
Many “came to us because the police one day knocked on their door to inform them that their relatives may have been victims of Niels Hoegel, and that they wanted to exhume them,” she said.
It took time to build the latest, breathtakingly vast case.
Caught by surprise while injecting an unprescribed medication in a patient in 2005 in Delmenhorst, Hoegel was sentenced in 2008 to seven years in prison for attempted murder.
A second trial followed 2014-15 under pressure from alleged victims’ families, who accused prosecutors of dragging their feet.
This time he was found guilty of murder and attempted murder of five other victims and given the maximum sentence of 15 years.
It was only then that he admitted to his psychiatrist at least 30 more murders, committed in Delmenhorst. This prompted investigators to take a closer look at suspicious deaths in Oldenburg.
“We will never really be able to count” the total number of victims, said Schmidt, because so many were cremated after their deaths. Investigators put the estimated toll at more than 200.
Hoegel appears to have followed a similar procedure each time he targeted a patient: first, the injection of a medication triggering cardiac arrest, followed by an often futile resuscitation.
Prosecutors say he was motivated by vanity, to show off his skills at saving human lives entrusted to him, and simple “boredom.”
The choice of victim appears entirely random, covering ages ranging from 34 to 96.
He did not focus on people with incurable illnesses or cite “pity” as a motive — an explanation often invoked by other hospital killers such as German “angel of death” nurse Stephan Letter, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2006 for the murder of 29 people.
Psychological analyzes of Hoegel found a “severe narcissistic disorder” and a paralysing fear of his own death.
Among his victims was Christian Marbach’s grandfather who was admitted to the Delmenhorst clinic in 2003 for a routine operation.
Placed in intensive care, he survived an initial injection-resuscitation cycle at the hands of Hoegel but died during a second one days later.
“He tried twice to kill him!” Marbach said. Hoegel was sentenced for that murder in 2015.
Marbach said his fury was also directed at the hospitals that employed Hoegel and failed to check his lethal impulses.
“The murders at Delmenhorst would not have been possible without the mistakes of certain people in Oldenburg who knew what was happening,” he said.
The trial is expected to run until at least May.
Germany tries ‘serial killer’ nurse over worst post-war spree
Germany tries ‘serial killer’ nurse over worst post-war spree
- At least 35 patients were killed at a hospital in Oldenburg where he worked, and about 64 more in Delmenhorst, between 2000 and 2005
- The 41-year-old is accused of intentionally administering medical overdoses to patients
US and Ukraine reach consensus on key issues aimed at ending the war but territorial disputes remain
US and Ukraine reach consensus on key issues aimed at ending the war but territorial disputes remain
- Russia continues to assert maximalist demands, insisting that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory in Donbas that it has not captured, an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected
KYIV: The United States and Ukraine have reached a consensus on several critical issues aimed at bringing an end to the nearly four-year conflict, but sensitive issues around territorial control in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, along with the management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, remain unresolved, Ukraine’s president said.
Volodymyr Zelensky spoke as the US showed the 20-point plan, hammered out after marathon talks in Florida in recent days, to Russian negotiators. A response is expected from Moscow on Wednesday, Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president briefed journalists on each point of the plan on Tuesday. His comments were embargoed until Wednesday morning. The draft proposal, which reflects Ukraine’s wishes, intertwines political and commercial interests to safeguard security while boosting economic potential.
At the heart of the negotiations lies the contentious territorial dispute concerning the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, known as the Donbas. This is “the most difficult point,” Zelensky said. He said these matters will be discussed at the leaders level.
Russia continues to assert maximalist demands, insisting that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory in Donbas that it has not captured — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70 percent of Donetsk.
In a bid to facilitate compromise, the United States has proposed transforming these areas into free economic zones. Ukraine insists that any arrangement must be contingent upon a referendum, allowing the Ukrainian people to determine their own fate. Ukraine is demanding the demilitarization of the area and the presence of an international force to ensure stability, Zelensky said.
How the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest plant in Europe which is under Russian occupation, will be managed is another contentious issue. The US is proposing a consortium with Ukraine and Russia, with each party having an equal stake in the enterprise.
But Zelensky countered with a joint venture proposal between the US and Ukraine, in which the Americans are able to decide how to distribute their share, presuming it would go to Russia.
“We did not reach a consensus with the American side on the territory of the Donetsk region and on the ZNPP,” Zelensky said, referring to the power plant in Zaporizhzhia. “But we have significantly brought most of the positions closer together. In principle, all other consensus in this agreement has been found between us and them.”
A free economic zone compromise
Point 14, which covers territories that cut across the eastern front line, and Point 12, which discusses management of the Zaporizhzhia plant, will likely be major sticking points in the talks.
Zelensky said: “We are in a situation where the Russians want us to leave the Donetsk region, and the Americans are trying to find a way so that it is ‘not a way out’ — because we are against leaving — they want to find a demilitarized zone or a free economic zone in this, that is, a format that can provide for the views of both sides.”
The draft states that the contact line, which cuts across five Ukrainian regions, be frozen once the agreement is signed.
Ukraine’s stance is that any attempt to create a free economic zone must be ratified by a referendum, affirming that the Ukrainian people ultimately hold the decision-making power, Zelensky said. This process will require 60 days, he added, during which time hostilities should stop to allow the process to happen.
More difficult discussions would require hammering out how far troops would be required to move back, per Ukraine’s proposal, and where international forces would be s tationed. Zelensky said ultimately “people can choose: this ending suits us or not,” he said.
The draft also proposes that Russian forces withdraw from Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv regions, and that international forces be located along the contact line to monitor the implementation of the agreement.
“Since there is no faith in the Russians, and they have repeatedly broken their promises, today’s contact line is turning into a line of a de facto free economic zone, and international forces should be there to guarantee that no one will enter there under any guise — neither ‘little green men’ nor Russian military disguised as civilians,” Zelensky said.
Managing Zaporizhzhia power plant
Ukraine is also proposing that the occupied city of Enerhodar, which is connected to the Zaporizhzhia power plant, be a demilitarized free economic zone, Zelensky said. This point required 15 hours of discussions with the US, he said.
For now, the US proposes that the plant be jointly operated by Ukraine, the US and Russia, with each side receiving dividends from the enterprise.
“The USA is offering 33 percent for 33 percent for 33 percent, and the Americans are the main manager of this joint venture,” he said. “It is clear that for Ukraine this sounds very unsuccessful and not entirely realistic. How can you have joint commerce with the Russians after everything?”
Ukraine offered an alternative proposal, that the plant be operated by a joint venture with the US in which the Americans can determine independently how to distribute their 50 percent share.
Zelensky said billions in investments are needed to make the plant run again, including restoring the adjacent dam.
“There were about 15 hours of conversations about the plant. These are all very complex things.”
A separate annex for security guarantees
The document ensures that Ukraine will be provided with “strong” security guarantees that mirror NATO’s Article 5, which would obligate Ukraine’s partners to act in the event of renewed Russian aggression.
Zelensky said that a separate bilateral document with the US will outline these guarantees. This agreement will detail the conditions under which security will be provided, particularly in the event of a renewed Russian assault, and will establish a mechanism to monitor the ceasefire.
This mechanism will utilize satellite technology and early warning systems to ensure effective oversight and rapid response capabilities.
“The mood of the United States of America is that this is an unprecedented step toward Ukraine on their part. They believe that they are giving strong security guarantees,” he said.
The draft contains other elements including keeping Ukraine’s army at 800,000 during peace time, and by nailing down a specific date for ascension to the European Union.
Elections and boosting the economy
The document proposes accelerating a free trade agreement between Ukraine and the US once the agreement is signed. The US wants the same deal with Russia, said Zelensky.
Ukraine would like to receive short-term privileged access to the European market and a robust global development package, that will cover a wide-range of economic interests, including a development fund to invest in industries including technology, data centers and artificial intelligence, as well as gas.
Also included are funds for the reconstruction of territories destroyed in the war.
“Ukraine will have the opportunity to determine the priorities for distributing its share of funds in the territories under the control of Ukraine. And this is a very important point, on which we spent a lot of time,” Zelensky said.
The goal will be to attract $800 billion through equity, grants, loans and private sector contributions.
The draft proposal also requires Ukraine to hold elections after the signing of the agreement. “This is the partners’ vision,” Zelensky said.
Ukraine is also asking that all prisoners since 2014 be released at once, and that civilian detainees, political prisoners and children be returned to Ukraine.
