Niels Högel

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Niels Högel (born December 30, 1976 in Wilhelmshaven ) is a German serial killer . From 1999 to mid-2005 he worked as a nurse in hospitals in Oldenburg and Delmenhorst , where he committed numerous murders, which are believed to be the largest series of murders in German criminal history. In total, the authorities initiated investigations into 332 cases on suspicion of murder.

Career

Niels Högel grew up in Wilhelmshaven , had no problems at school and played football in his free time. His father was a nurse in the Sankt-Willehad-Hospital in Wilhelmshaven, his mother a legal assistant, a grandmother a nurse.

In 1997 Högel completed a three-year professional training as a nurse at what was then Sankt-Willehad-Hospital in Wilhelmshaven, where he initially continued to work.

From 1999 he was employed in the cardiac surgery intensive care unit in the Oldenburg Clinic . In August 2001 doctors and nurses from Ward 211 of the hospital discussed the noticeable increase in resuscitation and deaths in the previous months. Högel also took part in this meeting. When he was on duty, there were the most resuscitation attempts and deaths. Years later, after he was caught, Högel revealed to the police that he thought he had been discovered. He called in sick for three weeks after the meeting. During this time, only two patients died in Ward 211 - significantly fewer than usual. 58% of the deaths at the hospital occurred when Högel was on duty. Under pressure of the head physician of the heart surgery department took place in 2001, the displacement Högels in the anesthesia . Here, too, the head physician is said to have had an “uneasy feeling” because Högel was noticeably often present in crisis situations. In September 2002 Högel was urged to resign by the Oldenburg chief physician after several patients he was looking after were in mortal danger for reasons that were still inexplicable at the time. He should quit and receive three months of his payments or, if he is fully paid, switch from the intensive care unit to the pick-up and delivery service . On October 10, 2002, he received a certificate of employment issued by the nursing director of the Oldenburg Clinic. In it, she certifies that he worked “prudently, conscientiously and independently” and acted in “critical situations thoughtfully and factually correct”. She also praises his “commitment” and “cooperative behavior”. Overall assessment: He had completed the tasks assigned to him "to the fullest satisfaction".

In December 2002 he moved to the Delmenhorst Clinic . There, too, there were frequent emergencies and deaths during his service, mostly due to cardiac arrhythmias and / or drop in blood pressure , whereupon some of his colleagues distanced himself from him. In 2004 he married and his daughter was born. The birth he was present at was life-threatening for the child. He couldn't do anything and that was "terrible", he told the appraiser. During his free time he drove in the ambulance of the DRK guard Ganderkesee-Bookhorn. It was later reported in court that he was first highly regarded in Delmenhorst, but then the mood changed and the feeling arose that something was "strange". The superiors did not investigate the suspicions, not even when four empty ampoules with Gilurytmal mark appeared on the ward , which no doctor had prescribed there.

Investigations and convictions in 2006 and 2008

On June 22, 2005, Högel was caught red-handed by colleagues in the intensive care unit when he deliberately manipulated a patient's syringe pump and administered the anti-arrhythmic drug Gilurytmal to him without medical indication . Two days after the crime, the clinic's managers discussed how to proceed. Because there was a single late shift before Högel's vacation, they postponed their decision to the period of his vacation. On his last day at work, Högel murdered another patient. As part of the investigation, several employees of the Delmenhorst Clinic turned to the police independently of each other and expressed the suspicion that Högel could be responsible for numerous complications, resuscitation and other unexplained deaths at the Delmenhorst Clinic . The police then carried out extensive investigations and investigated all deaths between 2003 and 2005. It emerged that the number of deaths at the Delmenhorst Clinic had doubled during the period Högel was employed; In 2005, 73 percent of deaths were related to length of service. This finding was communicated to the responsible public prosecutor in Oldenburg in 2006 in several statements and investigative reports.

In December 2006, the Oldenburg Regional Court sentenced Niels Högel to five years imprisonment and a five-year professional ban for the case of June 22, 2005 for attempted manslaughter . The Federal Court of Justice overturned the judgment on appeal by a joint plaintiff. In June 2008 Högel was sentenced again, this time to seven and a half years imprisonment and a life-long professional ban.

Conviction 2015

Since January 2014, the Oldenburg public prosecutor's office has been investigating Högel again because of the Delmenhorst cases. In September 2014, he was charged with triple homicide and double attempted homicide. Högel confessed to these cases and said he had committed 30 more murders. On February 28, 2015 he was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Regional Court of Oldenburg , determining the gravity of his guilt . The court saw it as proven that Högel had been guilty of double murder, double attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm in another case at the Delmenhorst Clinic. The judgment became final in March 2015.

Further investigations

Since November 2014, the “Cardio” special commission has been examining further deaths from various institutions from the time when Högel was employed there.

In 2015, exhumations of further alleged victims from cemeteries in Ganderkesee and Delmenhorst revealed evidence of further corpses with traces of a heart drug. In November 2016, the investigating authorities assumed 37 verifiable homicides in Delmenhorst between December 2002 and June 2005.

At the end of August 2017, the police in Oldenburg presented their investigation results. Accordingly, Högel is suspected of 84 more murders; these cases are only those "[...] in which the evidence is so clear that an indictment is likely". This number could increase further as further toxicological studies are still ongoing. According to the head of the special "Cardio" commission, "the verifiable killings in Oldenburg and Delmenhorst [...] are only the tip of the iceberg". Because the police and the public prosecutor believe that further acts are proven, there will be criminal proceedings, the outcome of which, however, will not change Högel's sentence.

In the course of the investigation, which lasted almost three years, more than 200 cases were uncovered and a total of 134 bodies were exhumed in 67 different cemeteries and examined by forensic medicine. In many cases, the condition of the corpses was no longer sufficient to detect drug residues. 101 patients from Delmenhorst who died during Högel's service were cremated and could no longer be examined.

The Oldenburg Labor Court sentenced Högel on March 7, 2018, to pay the Oldenburg Clinic 47,000 euros in damages for two medical reports and legal fees.

Process 2018/19

In January 2018, the Oldenburg public prosecutor's office again brought charges against Högel on suspicion of murdering 97 patients (62 at the Delmenhorst Clinic and 35 at the Oldenburg Clinic). The trial at the Oldenburg Regional Court began on October 30, 2018 and took place in the ballrooms of the Weser-Ems-Hallen in Oldenburg due to the high number of participants (including 120 accessory plaintiffs ) . On the very first day of the trial, Högel confessed to the alleged acts. On June 6, 2019, Högel was found guilty in 85 cases and sentenced to life imprisonment for the second time. The court determined the particular gravity of the guilt.

Work-up

Criticism of the investigation

After the conviction, the Osnabrück public prosecutor brought charges against a former senior public prosecutor in Oldenburg for thwarting punishment . Despite clear evidence, he did not bring charges and delayed investigations. The district court did not allow the indictment. The Osnabrück public prosecutor's office lodged a complaint against the decision not to open the court, which the Oldenburg Higher Regional Court finally rejected in early December 2015.

Reactions of the clinics concerned

After the verdict was confirmed at the beginning of 2015, both the Delmenhorst Clinic and the Oldenburg Clinic announced that they would compensate the relatives of the victims. In July 2015, the two hospitals in Delmenhorst, meanwhile merged to the Josef-Hospital Delmenhorst, announced that they would be the first clinics in Germany to introduce the "qualified post- mortem examination" by an additional forensic doctor. The four-eyes principle should prevent unnatural causes of death as a result of criminal acts being overlooked.

Investigations and charges against clinic employees

Investigations were also initiated against Högel's former colleagues and superiors because, despite clear indications of Högel's (sometimes "alleged") actions, they did not seem to have prevented (Oldenburg) or delayed (Delmenhorst) (see details above ).

In the case of two senior physicians and four nurses at the Delmenhorst Clinic, including the head of nursing at the intensive care unit, the investigations led to charges of manslaughter by failure to be brought before the Oldenburg Regional Court . However, the district court only admitted three of the charges to the main hearing . The public prosecutor's complaint against the non-admissions was upheld in one case by the Oldenburg Higher Regional Court , so that following the trial against Högel, four defendants are to be tried in separate proceedings with him as a witness. After his final conviction, he would be obliged to testify (on all questions) ( Section 55 (1) StPO).

An investigation is also being carried out against employees of the Oldenburg Clinic (as of January 2020), against two because of suspected manslaughter by omission, against three because of perjury. Although in 2001 a tally showed the many deaths that revives and mainly during business hours Högels occurred, Högel was allowed to continue his work as a nurse. First he was transferred, then he was allowed to change clinics.

Legislative changes

In its meeting on February 18, 2015 , the Lower Saxony State Parliament decided to set up the “Special Committee to Strengthen Patient Safety and Protection” to deal with the hospital murders . The task of the special committee was u. a. to critically question existing control mechanisms in the health care system and to show whether and where there is a need for legislative changes to increase patient safety . In addition to the need for changes in the law on cemeteries and funerals, the special committee also identified such changes in the Lower Saxony Hospital Act . The legislative changes were unanimously decided by the Lower Saxony state parliament on October 24, 2018. As a consequence of the murders in 2022 should at all hospitals by 1 January station pharmacist be set. In addition, clinic-internal drug commissions (AMK) as well as an anonymous error reporting system ( Critical Incident Reporting System ; CIRS) are to be set up. In addition, the law provides for regular mortality and morbidity conferences (MMK). The law came into force in 2019.

See also

literature

  • Karl H. legs: "Sick killing in clinics and homes - detection and prevention". Lambertus-Verlag, Freiburg, 2010. 397 pages. ISBN 3-7841-1973-5
( Legs writes in it:  Some of these acts can be avoided if early warning signs are observed. Is there a connection between the presence of certain carers and more frequent deaths? Is there a raw language in the facility? Are there more complaints from relatives? A thorough drug control can also be used prevention, as well as the possibility to report suspicious incidents anonymously. ...)
  • Hubert Gude, Veronika Hackenbroch, Julia Jüttner: The killer of the century . In: Der Spiegel . No. 16 , 2018, p. 46-53 ( online ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Wiebke Ramm : Murder out of boredom. In: Spiegel Online . October 30, 2018, accessed November 4, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Niels Högel killed 100 people: "There sat the small, vulnerable mass murderer today". In: Focus Online . October 30, 2018, accessed November 4, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Marco Seng, Karsten Krogmann, Jürgen Westerhoff: "There were no signs at all". In: NWZonline . November 27, 2014, accessed June 24, 2015.
  4. ↑ Karsten Krogmann: Klinikmorde im Nordwest: Policemen on the edge of speechlessness. In: NWZonline. August 29, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2017 .
  5. ↑ Pick-up and delivery services are usually transport activities by untrained assistants within a hospital
  6. ↑ Marco Seng, Karsten Krogmann: Good testimony for the murderer Högel despite suspicion. In: NWZ Online . June 24, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  7. ↑ Högel: Witness complains about the muzzle at the clinic. In: NDR Online , March 7, 2019.
  8. ↑ Rosvita Krausz: "He worked carefully and conscientiously". Das Feature, p. 16. In: www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de. Retrieved December 7, 2019 .
  9. ↑ a b Karsten Krogmann, Marco Seng: Why did nobody stop Niels Högel? In: NWZ Online , November 16, 2017.
  10. ↑ a b The 'career' of a serial killer. In: NDR Online . Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  11. ↑ Pfleger process: murder verdict against Niels Högel is final. In: NWZonline , March 10, 2015. The
    judgment against Niels H. is final. In: NDR Online , March 9, 2015.
  12. ↑ Number of possible murder victims of Niels H. increased to 24. In: Spiegel Online. April 14, 2016, accessed April 14, 2016 .
  13. ↑ Ten other victims discovered by Niels Högel. In: NWZonline . July 15, 2015, accessed July 15, 2015.
  14. ↑ Number of victims increased to 37 - Niels H case: charges against six clinic employees. In: noz.de , November 25, 2016.
  15. ↑ mxw / dpa / AFP: Series of murders in Lower Saxony: Niels H. is said to have killed 84 other people. In: Spiegel Online. August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017 .
  16. ↑ Niels H. is said to have killed at least 84 other people. In: sueddeutsche.de . August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017 .
  17. ↑ Niels Högel - Story of an unprecedented series of murders. In: sueddeutsche.de. August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2017 .
  18. ↑ Marthe Ruddat: Nurse Niels Högel in court: Tatwaffen Sotalex and Gilurytmal. In: taz.de. October 30, 2018, accessed October 31, 2018 .
  19. ↑ Karsten Krogmann: In the case of Niels Högel: Soko Kardio takes stock of the largest series of murders. In: NWZonline. August 26, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017 .
  20. ↑ Death nurse Niels Högel sentenced to damages. Süddeutsche Zeitung , April 20, 2018, accessed on August 21, 2020 . .
  21. ^ Nursing charged with 97 murders. In: Spiegel Online. January 22, 2018, accessed October 6, 2018 .
  22. ↑ Kai Hasse: Relatives are preparing for the Högel trial. In: noz.de. September 17, 2018, accessed October 6, 2018 .
  23. ↑ Karsten Krogmann: District court prepares co-plaintiffs for mega-trial. In: NWZonline. September 11, 2018, accessed October 6, 2018 .
  24. ^ The court presents the scene of the Högel trial. In: NDR Online. September 10, 2018, accessed October 6, 2018 .
  25. ↑ Karsten Krogmann, Inga Wolter, Jörg Jung: Högel admits to patient murders. In: NWZonline. October 30, 2018, accessed October 30, 2018 .
  26. ^ Niels Högel sentenced to life imprisonment. In: Spiegel Online. June 6, 2019, accessed June 6, 2019 .
  27. ↑ Ex-Chief Public Prosecutor charged in the Niels H. case. April 21, 2014, archived from the original on April 20, 2015 ; accessed on April 14, 2016 .
  28. ^ Franz-Josef Höffmann, Marco Seng: No trial against ex-senior public prosecutor. In: NWZonline. September 1, 2015, accessed April 14, 2016 .
  29. ↑ Tobias Schwerdtfeger: No trial against former Högel investigators. In: NWZonline. December 4, 2015, accessed April 14, 2016 .
  30. ↑ Delmenhorst hospitals introduce qualified post-mortem examinations. In: Weser Courier . July 14, 2015, accessed April 14, 2016 .
  31. ^ Case Niels H .: Indictment against clinic employees. In: NDR Online. November 25, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2018 .
  32. ↑ Karsten Krogmann, Marco Seng: Six clinic employees accused in the Niels Högel case. In: NWZonline. November 25, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2016 .
  33. ^ Niels Högel: Further charges against clinic employees. In: NDR Online. March 9, 2018, accessed November 4, 2018 .
  34. ↑ The murderous nurse - everything about the process. In: NDR Online. October 30, 2018, accessed on November 4, 2018 : "In addition, employees of the Oldenburg Clinic are being investigated."
  35. ^ Högel: Released employees back in the clinic. NDR 1 Lower Saxony, January 9, 2020; accessed on February 19, 2020.
  36. ↑ Karsten Krogmann: Police searched the Oldenburg Clinic. In: NWZonline. May 17, 2018, accessed November 4, 2018 .
  37. ↑ Högel case: ward manager kept tally. In: NDR Online. May 17, 2018, accessed October 7, 2018 .
  38. ^ Draft of a law amending the Lower Saxony Hospital Act and other regulations. (PDF) Lower Saxony State Parliament - 18th electoral period, May 16, 2018, accessed on October 30, 2018 .
  39. ↑ Kirsten Sucker-Sket: Unanimously per ward pharmacist. In: DAZ online. October 24, 2018, accessed October 30, 2018 .
  40. ↑ State Parliament unanimously resolves amendment to the Hospital Act. Lower Saxony Ministry of Social Affairs, Health and Equality , October 24, 2018, accessed on October 24, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Högel, Niels
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German serial killer
DATE OF BIRTH December 30, 1976
PLACE OF BIRTH Wilhelmshaven