DThe former managers from the Oldenburg and Delmenhorst clinics, under whose eyes the patient killer Niels H. committed the largest known series of murders in Germany, are expected to be acquitted.
The district court of Oldenburg announced on Tuesday in a preliminary assessment that intentional action by the murderer’s seven former superiors was not proven with the necessary certainty in the taking of evidence. However, this is necessary for a conviction for aiding and abetting manslaughter or attempted manslaughter by omission.
The district court of Oldenburg had convicted Niels H. of murder in 85 cases in 2019. The actual number of his victims is probably far higher.
Between 1999 and 2005, H. was a nurse in Oldenburg and later in Delmenhorst. During this time he injected his patients with heart medication in order to present himself as a rescuer to his colleagues during the subsequent resuscitation.
There were numerous indications of Niels H.’s actions, but these were ignored. The jury chamber said on Tuesday that considerable mistrust of Niels H. had developed in Oldenburg. But this is not enough for a conviction.
A prepared tally of the deaths, which Niels H. led at a clear distance, cannot be precisely dated. The same applies to the “potassium conference” due to abnormal values in the patients. With regard to the murders in Delmenhorst, the chamber stated that the discovery of empty Gilurythmal ampoules had increased the suspicion of superiors, but that no conditional intent could be derived from this. A conviction for involuntary manslaughter is out of the question because these allegations are now time-barred.