According to investigators, 44-year-old palliative care nurse Ulrich S. administered lethal doses of sedatives and painkillers to patients during night shifts. The victims were primarily elderly. He worked at a clinic in Würselen, near Aachen, and also in Cologne.
The nurse explained his actions by saying he was tired from work and wanted to reduce the workload by getting some sleep. He was found guilty of murdering 10 patients and attempted to murder 27 more. In November 2025, he was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Prosecutors and the court are currently investigating approximately 139 more suspicious cases related to Ulrich. Thirty-nine exhumations have been conducted to date. He worked at the clinic for six years.
New charges could be brought against the nurse as early as 2027.
A palliative care physician has been sentenced to life in prison in Germany for the premeditated murder of 15 seriously ill patients.
A similar trial took place in Berlin, where a court found a 41-year-old physician guilty of murdering 12 women and three men, aged between 25 and 94. While working with seriously ill patients, the physician administered lethal doses of medication to his patients without their consent between September 2021 and July 2024.
None of his patients were expected to die soon, despite their diagnoses. Shortly before his arrest, the physician killed two people in one day: a 75-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman. He explained to the court that he was motivated by good intentions, allegedly trying to alleviate the suffering of his patients.
The court sentenced the physician to life in prison. It is unknown how many people may have fallen victim to him.
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