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WORLD NEWS Friday 7 June 2019

German nurse who murdered 87 patients given life sentence

By DAVID RISING "particular seriousness" of
BERLIN (AP) — Niels Hoegel Hoegel's crimes, a finding
liked to bring about cardi- that all but ensures he will
ac arrests in his patients by remain incarcerated after
injecting them with over- the standard 15-year term
doses of heart medication is up.
and other drugs because During his first trial, Hoe-
he enjoyed the feeling of gel said he intentionally
being able to resuscitate brought about cardiac
them. Sometimes he suc- crises in some 90 patients
ceeded in bringing them in Delmenhorst because
back, but in at least 87 he enjoyed the feeling of
cases they died, making being able to resuscitate
him what is believed to be them. He later told inves-
modern Germany's most tigators that he also killed
prolific serial killer. patients in Oldenburg.
A court in the northwestern That prompted a wider in-
city of Oldenburg on Thurs- vestigation involving both
day found the 42-year-old hospitals, and police and
nurse guilty of murdering prosecutors reviewed more
85 patients, aged 34 to 96, than 500 patient files and
and sentenced him to life in Former nurse Niels Hoegel sits in the court room during a session of the district court in Oldenburg, hundreds more hospital re-
prison. He had earlier been Germany, Thursday, June 6, 2019. cords. They also exhumed
convicted of two other kill- Associated Press 134 bodies from 67 cem-
ings. eteries, and questioned
"Your guilt is incomprehen- Hoegel worked at a hospi- between 2000 and 2005, and is already currently Hoegel multiple times, con-
sible," presiding judge Se- tal in Oldenburg between the dpa news agency re- serving a life sentence. cluding that he had used a
bastian Buerhmann said as 1999 and 2002 and another ported. There are no consecutive variety of drugs to attempt
he handed down the ver- hospital in nearby Delmen- Hoegel was convicted in sentences in the German resuscitation of his patients,
dict. "I felt like an accoun- horst from 2003 to 2005, 2015 of two murders and system, but Buerhmann and was fully aware they
tant of death." and the killings took place two attempted murders noted in his verdict the might die.q

Greek leader warns of return to 'dark days' of austerity

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — In a hastily arranged state- of our plan," he said.
Greece's prime minister ment outside his office in Tsipras' comments came
warned his country's vot- Athens on Thursday, he a day after the European
ers on Thursday that the said the results had em- Commission issued a report
choices they make in next boldened some among expressing concern at the
months' early elections Greece's creditors to at- impact the new measures,
will determine whether tempt to undermine his announced shortly before
Greece slips back into "the government's recent in- the European elections,
dark days" of austerity. troduction of new benefits would have on the coun-
Alexis Tsipras's left-wing Syri- and consumer tax cuts. try's budget targets.
za party suffered a heavy The election results "whet- The prime minister said the
defeat in May's European ted the appetite of both new benefits were part of
elections, trailing the con- the old political establish- a plan to allow those who
servative New Democracy ment in Greece and the had made sacrifices dur-
party by more than 9 per- more extreme conservative ing the bailout years "to
centage points and lead- circles in Brussels, to doubt be able to see in their daily Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras makes a statement to the
ing him to call an early na- our political choices and to lives ... the results of their press outside his office in Athens, on Thursday, June 6, 2019.
tional vote for July 7. place obstacles in the way sacrifices."q Associated Press