A former nurse in Germany, Nils Hoogel, admitted to the court today that he had been charged with killing 100 patients after being sentenced to life imprisonment three years ago for murdering patients in another case.
At the start of his new trial to look into other facts, the accused pleaded guilty to the charges against him in the Oldenburg City Court of Appeal, without the court being specifically charged with the facts of the individual murder.
He responded by saying "yes" to a question from the judge on whether the 100 charges, ranging from ill-treatment to murder, were true.
The trial began with a minute of silence for the victims. It is assumed that Hojl, 41, between 2000 and 2005, injected patients between the ages of 34 to 96 years with drugs that led to their deaths, while working as a nurse in two hospitals, one in the city of Oldenburg and the other in the city of Delmenhurst, Lower Saxony.
The prosecutor stated that the accused had committed his crimes treacherously and out of spiteful motives, and the new trial had been transferred to a conference room because of the high attendance.
At the start of the trial, the judge asked everyone present to stand up for a minute of silence. He addressed the relatives of the victims by saying: "All your relatives deserve to be remembered with honor." He said that this had nothing to do with whether or not he had anything to do with their death.
The judge promised to exert efforts and devote all the court's powers to the truth, and addressed the accused, saying: "I will try you fairly and frankly in good things and bad things."
According to the prosecution, he had injected his patients with drugs with deadly side effects, and then tried to save them but failed in many cases. The prosecution pointed out that the motive of these crimes was his boredom and seeking recognition from his colleagues after proving their abilities in Resuscitation of patients.
The case is complex and expensive. The prosecutor asked to hear 23 witnesses and to attend 11 toxicology and medical law experts.
"We have struggled for four years for this trial and we are waiting for Hogan to be convicted of another hundred murders," said Christian Marbach, a spokesman for relatives of the victims.