BERLIN: German prosecutors said Monday (Aug 10) they were investigating dozens of suspicious cases which could be connected to a palliative care nurse already jailed for the murder of 10 patients.

The man - partially identified by German media as Ulrich S, who worked in a hospital in Wuerselen near the western city of Aachen - was jailed for life in November after being convicted of 10 counts of murder and 27 of attempted murder.  

Prosecutors in that earlier trial said he injected the mostly elderly patients with large doses of sedatives or painkillers, with the simple aim of reducing his workload during night shifts.

The investigation continued after his conviction and prosecutors in Aachen now say they are looking at 121 cases they think could be linked to the man and that new charges against him could be filed next year.

Almost 40 bodies have so far been exhumed as part of the new investigation, which covers incidents going back as far as September 2022. 

In addition, prosecutors in Cologne are investigating 18 further cases, the earliest of which dates from 2010. 

Before working at the Wuerselen hospital, the nurse is believed to have been active at a clinic in Cologne, according to local media reports. 

At the time of his conviction, the court also determined that the offences carried a "particular severity of guilt" which should bar him from early release after 15 years, normally an option in such cases.

In the trial, prosecutors described him as working "with no motivation" or empathy for his patients.

The case echoes that of nurse Niels Hoegel, who was handed a life sentence in 2019 for murdering 85 patients and who is believed to be modern Germany's most prolific serial killer.

Hoegel killed patients with lethal injections between 2000 and 2005 before he was caught.

Last month, a palliative care doctor in Berlin was sentenced to life for murdering 15 people with lethal doses of sedatives.

In several cases, he allegedly set fire to their apartments in an attempt to cover up the killings.

He, too, remains under investigation over possible involvement in other cases.