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When the term ‘serial killer’ is mentioned, your mind may picture a psychopathic-looking dude foaming at the mouth carrying a machete and mumbling to himself. But the most dangerous ones are those who work among us, those who can carry out atrocities under the guise of normalcy.
That is exactly how a German nurse named Niels Högel became the worst serial killer in German post-war history one of the most prolific serial killers on the planet.
The 42-year-old began his stint at the intensive-care unit of Delmenhorst hospital with good letters of recommendation, claiming he worked “independently and conscientiously” and “with consideration.” Nowhere in the letters did it say that officials at his former hospital in Oldenburg, Germany, became skeptical of the number of deaths under Högel’s care and ultimately barred him from contact with patients, forcing him out.
Instead of Högel being investigated further, he was able to continue as a nurse for over five years starting in 2000, with officials suspecting that as many as 300 patients may have died forcefully by his hand in that time, ranging from ages 34 to 96.
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According to the New York Times, “Högel has admitted to killing 43 people, has not ruled out killing 52 others and denied killing five.” He is currently serving a life sentence for murdering two patients and playing a role in the killing of four others, marking his third trial since 2006. He is now facing charges of murdering 100 more patients, 36 at the main clinic in Oldenburg and another 64 after he transferred to Delmenhorst.
He administered overdoses of drugs that caused cardiac arrest so that he could rush back and try to revive patients heroically. His colleagues called him “Resuscitation Rambo” and rewarded his skill with a necklace made of injection tubes, which he wore with pride.
Of 411 deaths at the Delmenhorst hospital during the three years he worked there, 321 occurred during or just after his shifts, records show. The authorities do not know how many patients he may have killed.
Beatrice Yorker, professor emerita of nursing and criminal justice at California State University, claims that killers in medical professions due so out of narcissism, underlying hostility and rage, and a need to feel powerful when they’d otherwise feel helpless in their own lives.
Högel previously stated that he committed the crimes out of “boredom,” feeling euphoric when he managed to bring a patient back to life.
For the first time last year, Högel testified to the court, recalling details of the he felt “shame” when reading over the medical records of the patients.
“Every single case, even just reading them,” he said, “I am endlessly sorry.”
As the New York Times points out, the case brings to question the systematic failure in Germany to raise red flags within large bureaucracies, with a people who remain private and are conditioned to defer to hierarchies consistent of the behavior surrounding Nazi-era crimes.
Meet the subject of Netflix’s next hot serial killer series Niels Högel #Netflix #ScaryNurses #MothersDay pic.twitter.com/qEpkprjYHw
— Raglan (@raglanswake) May 10, 2019
Lock this freak up and throw away the key forever.