A nurse who murdered four disabled residents with a knife at a care home has been jailed for 15 years.
Ines R., 52, a former nurse, has been jailed for 15 years for murder and attempted murder during her trial at the Potsdam Regional Court, which is located in the city of Potsdam, the state capital of the north-eastern German state of Brandenburg, which lies just outside the capital Berlin.
Her full surname was not revealed due to strict local privacy laws.
The accused was found guilty of four murders, three attempted murders, and serious mistreatment of patients.
The victims were aged between 31 and 56, and they have also not been named due to strict local privacy laws. The defendant was on trial accused of going to their rooms in April, fatally injuring them with the knife.
An unnamed 43-year-old resident at the care home survived the attack after being given emergency surgery.
A court-appointed forensic psychiatrist stated that the defendant had a significantly reduced level of culpability due to an unspecified personality disorder. The defendant, according to her lawyer, is ruled by an “inner monster” as a result of traumatic childhood experiences, which led to the fatal outbreak of violence.
The defendant was placed in a psychiatric facility after her arrest in April.
She will also spend at least part of her sentence in a psychiatric facility, as per the prior request of both the prosecutor and the defence.
The defendant made closing statements apologising to the families of the victims.
It is unclear if the sentence can be appealed and, if so, if the defendant plans to do so.
