For some time, nurse Niels Högel was a hero within the ICU wards of northern Germany, known as Resuscitation Rambo for constantly leaping into emergencies and bringing patients back. In fact, even doctors and staff considered him brave and skilled. But beneath all of that, something very dark was going on.
I remember reading this case late at night and really getting the chills. Of course, at first it sounds more like a movie story, but then suddenly you realize this actually happened to real people.
Between 2000 and 2005, it seemed that each time that Högel was in the hospital, someone died. In two hospitals, namely the Oldenburg Clinic and later Delmenhorst hospital, there was a high record of deaths. At first, nobody connected the dots appropriately. Later, the investigations revealed the deaths were deliberate. Högel was creating those emergencies intentionally, just for the chance to be the hero.
Hauke-Christian Dittrich/picture alliance via Getty
They discovered he would also inject patients with unexpected heart medicines not stated on the prescription, like ajmaline, amiodarone, and sotalol. After giving these injections, he would wait for the heart failure to happen before rushing in to try resuscitating them. There was a mix of both; some patients survived, and others died.
Högel, in court, even admitted that the day would be a boring day for him. He said saving someone made him feel suitable for days. That part really annoyed me because those patients were already fighting for their lives in the ICU.
Doctors at the Oldenburg Clinic began noticing that the emergency alarms rang more frequently when Högel was on duty. Death rate statistics also jumped within his shifts. Still, no police report came from anyone. Instead, the hospital managers moved him to another hospital and even gave him a clean reference letter.
Things got worse at the Delmenhorst hospital with a total of 411 ICU deaths occurring in three years; 321 of these occurred during or soon after Högel’s duty hours. Compared with the usual death rates, the ICU death rates nearly doubled while he was there. Still, no police report followed.
Frank Brinkers, son of one of Niels Högel’s victims, states about Högel’s trial in Oldenburg. David Hecker/Getty
The truth came clear in 2005 when another nurse saw Högel injecting a heart drug not prescribed for his patient, who subsequently died the next day. Still, the hospital management waited two days before calling the police. That time, Högel added one patient to his kill list.
He was arrested and, in 2008, found guilty of attempted murder in the case. But that was the little surface. Years later, Högel would confess to many more illegal shots. This forcing the cops to open again old cases from both hospitals.
More than 130 corpses were psycho analyzed outside of Germany and around neighboring countries for drug traces. Some victims can never be counted since many bodies were cremated. Police have openly said they would never be able to tell the actual figure.
By 2017, investigators confirmed at least 90 murders. Many more were suspected but could not be proven. This one investigator called it something Germany had never seen before. Even now, police assume the total would be above 200.
During the 2019 trial, Högel faced 100 murder charges. His confession sealed the fate of 43 deaths. Some were denied, and he could not remember the rest. Finally, judges found him guilty of 85 murders and granted him a life sentence. They said his crimes were beyond human understanding.
This case shows how the hospital system failed these patients: had someone said something earlier, many lives could have been saved. For the ordinary citizen, reading this makes one realize the depth of trust people put in those in medical uniforms. You may also be interested in: Man, 86, Fined Over 300 Dollars for Littering After a Leaf Flew Into His Mouth
