Ulrich S may have killed 100 more at Rhein-Maas Hospital

A convicted German nurse’s body count might be nowhere near finished, and investigators are staring at a pile of deaths that could blow the case wide open.

What authorities are saying

• Officials in western Germany are rechecking a massive number of patient deaths.
• More than 100 additional cases are being flagged as suspicious.
• Prosecutors stress this is still early-stage digging, not confirmed guilt.

Who is driving the investigation

• The update came from Katja Schlenkermann-Pitts, chief public prosecutor in Aachen.
• She said the volume of questionable cases is high, but some may fall apart after testing.
• Forensic results are the gatekeeper before anything escalates.

What the nurse was already convicted of

• The former palliative care nurse was sentenced in November 2025.
• The court found him guilty of killing 10 patients.
• He was also convicted of 27 attempted murders.
• The punishment handed down was life imprisonment.

Where the crimes happened

• The acts occurred during night shifts at Rhein-Maas Hospital in Würselen.
• Patients were already seriously ill and highly vulnerable.
• The setting made detection slow and damage severe.

How prosecutors say it was done

• Excessive doses of sedatives and painkillers were administered.
• There was no medical justification behind the dosing.
• Some patients were given repeated doses despite obvious risk.
• The nurse knew the drugs could kill.

What the court believed motivated him

• Judges said the actions came from personal unease.
• A need to control situations played a role.
• The ruling described a mindset focused on imposing order.

The nurse’s defense

• He denied all murder accusations.
• He claimed the goal was to help patients sleep.
• He said he did not believe the medication would be fatal.

How prosecutors countered that story

• They described him as impatient and emotionally detached.
• Patients needing more care appeared to frustrate him.
• Prosecutors said he behaved like the ultimate decision-maker over life and death.

Why did the case just expanded

• The original trial focused on deaths from December 2023 to May 2024.
• New suspicions mostly point to earlier time periods.
• Investigators believe patterns may stretch further back than first known.

What investigators are doing next

• Around 60 exhumations have been ordered.
• Twenty-seven have already been completed.
• Roughly 30 more are still to come.
• Autopsy findings will decide if fresh charges follow.

Where things stand

• No new charges have been filed yet.
• Everything hinges on forensic proof.
• For families involved, answers may still be a long way off.