An OAP hospital patient accused of turning off her COVID-stricken wardmate’s oxygen machine because it kept her awake is facing an attempted murder charge,

The suspect – named only as 73-year-old Hatun C. by German prosecutors – is said to have twice switched off the device saying it was too noisy.

The machine was keeping 79-year-old Hilal K. alive at the Theresien Hospital in Mannheim, Baden-Wuerttemberg, southwestern Germany.

Both patients were in the clinic’s COVID-19 ward in November last year in adjacent beds.

After her oxygen machine had been turned off for a second time, medics revived Hilal but she died later from complications caused by oxygen starvation.

Turkish-born Hatun C.’s family claim she could not understand the German-speaking nurses’ instructions.

But prosecutors say she is now to face attempted murder and GBH charges.

Mannheim State prosecutors said on 6th April that they could not bring a murder charge because they could not prove Hatun C. had killed the victim.

Earlier this year, the son of Hatun C. claimed his mum is innocent because she cannot speak German and could not understand the nurses.

Speaking to German media, 41-year-old Aydin C. also blamed the hospital saying his mother “had no idea what she was doing”.

He said: “My mother couldn’t close her eyes there because the oxygen device of her bed neighbour made such a loud noise, like a tractor.

“She was exhausted and high on medication. But she didn’t want to harm the woman. It was an act of desperation.”

He added: “My mother worked as a toilet attendant for over 30 years, raised five children, and was never at fault.

“Now she is in prison as an old, frail woman with a serious heart condition. I’m afraid she’ll die there. She had no idea what she was doing.”

He further said: “My mother caught corona while on holiday in Turkey, she had been in the Mannheim clinic for seven days after her return, and was also in a very miserable mental state.”

Following her actions in November 2022, Hatun C. was arrested and put into custody.

Victim Hilal had first been hospitalised for atrial fibrillation, a condition that causes an irregular heartbeat

But she then caught COVID-19 in the hospital and had to be put on an oxygen machine.

Staff at the hospital had reportedly given Hatun C. a stern warning after she turned off her ward mate’s oxygen the first time.

But her son excused her subsequent attempt, implying it was the nurse’s fault for not speaking Turkish.

He said: “My mother can neither read nor write, she only understands Turkish, how should she have understood this announcement by the German nurse?

“In addition, she has no idea about machines. Otherwise, she would never have done something like this.”

He added: “My mother should have been moved to another room, and at the very least, we should have been informed immediately, then it would never have come to this.”

But he also took the opportunity to apologise to the victim’s family, saying: “I would like to apologise for all the suffering my mother brought to the 79-year-old’s family.”

He then added: “My mother herself was a victim of these intolerable circumstances in the clinic. She deeply regrets everything and asks for forgiveness.”

Hilal’s daughter – 48-year-old Sadet O. – has no time for Aydin’s excuses for his mother.

She told local media: “That woman probably killed my mother. I can’t forgive her for that.”

A date for the trial against Hatun C. has not been revealed and it is unclear whether the defendant is still in custody.