(MENAFN) A nurse working in palliative care in Germany has been handed a life sentence for murdering 10 patients and attempting to kill 27 more.

Authorities allege that the unnamed man injected predominantly elderly patients with painkillers and sedatives to reduce his workload during overnight shifts. The crimes took place between December 2023 and May 2024 at a hospital in Wuerselen, western Germany.

Investigators are reportedly examining other suspicious incidents from his career.

According to reports, the nurse had been employed at the Wuerselen hospital since 2020, after completing his professional nursing training in 2007. Prosecutors told the court in Aachen that he displayed "irritation" and a lack of empathy toward patients requiring intensive care, and accused him of treating himself as "master of life and death."

Court documents state that he administered high doses of morphine and midazolam to patients to lessen his responsibilities during night shifts. He was arrested in 2024. When sentencing him to life, the court noted the "particular severity of guilt," meaning he is unlikely to be eligible for early release after 15 years. The verdict can still be appealed.

Exhumations are ongoing to determine if there are additional victims, potentially leading to new charges. Observers have noted similarities to the case of former nurse Niels Högel, who received a life sentence in 2019 for killing 85 patients in northern Germany between 1999 and 2005, making him the country’s most prolific modern-era killer.

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