Exhuming and analyzing more bodies, the police have found evidence of “84 more murders”, which would make Hoegel one of Germany’s worst ever serial killers. Some others possible victims were cremated. Hoegel injected 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 worked at the Oldenburg hospital from 1999 to 2002 and in Delmenhorst from 2003 to 2005. Johann Kuehme, the Oldenburg police chief, told journalists at a press conference Monday that the number of victims had left authorities “speechless.”
Niels Hoegel
Authorities are pursuing now criminal cases against former staff at the two clinics because they say many of the deaths could have possibly been prevented if someone decided to alert authorities. Prosecutors are expected to try Hoegel on at least some of the additional killings but Germany’s judicial system does not allow for consecutive sentences, so future convictions won’t affect his life term. The identities of the suspected 84 victims haven’t been released.
