A woman in Denmark has been charged with one murder and seven attempted murders at a nursing home in Randers in Jutland. The trial began on Wednesday.
According to the indictment, the woman used the drugs Baclofen, Diazepam and Mirtazapine, preparations also used to relieve pain and relax muscles in nursing homes. In high doses they can be fatal.
Prosecutors believe he used the drug to kill a woman, and attempted to kill three other residents on multiple occasions, who were hospitalized several times.
Hospital admissions
It was the series of seemingly inexplicable hospitalizations of several elderly residents that aroused suspicion. The first report came from the son of a woman with Parkinson’s who was hospitalized several times.
The defendant was arrested on March 14 last year and has been in custody ever since. He denies any guilt and says through his lawyer that he can’t wait for the legal proceedings to begin.
Twelve days have been set aside for the court to deal with the case and the verdict is expected on February 23.
The woman has not released her statement in the case.
Unusual case
According to healthcare law professor Kent Kristensen at the University of Southern Denmark, the case is the largest so far in Danish legal history in which a healthcare worker is accused of abusing his position. She is further accused of stealing medicines from the nursing home and of being in possession of medicines at home without a legal prescription.
According to Kristensen, there is only one case that can compare to Randers’ case. In 2016 she became a nurse sentenced to life in prison for murder and attempted murder in a court in Nykøbing Falster. The sentence was appealed and subsequently changed to twelve years’ imprisonment for four attempted murders.
