Out CAC me....(ongoing)
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Outrage as New Jersey man 'is caught URINATING' on memorial for a nine-year-old boy who died of a brain tumor while his friend films it and LAUGHS
Published: 12:22 EDT, 20 May 2019 | Updated: 13:01 EDT, 20 May 2019
Two men have been arrested after one of them allegedly urinated on a memorial for a nine-year-old boy who died of cancer.
Bryan Bellace, 23, is accused of defacing the monument in a park in Mays Landing, New Jersey, while Daniel Flippen, also 23, allegedly held a camera and laughed.
The memorial was dedicated for aspiring veterinarian Christian Clopp, who died of an inoperable brain tumor in February 2012.
His father Mark Clopp said he was 'disgusted' by the video, calling the suspects 'scumbags', but said his friends and neighbors had come together to clean up the memorial and the park.
Two men have been arrested after one of them allegedly urinated on a memorial for a nine-year-old boy who died of cancer. Another man is said to have filmed the scene and laughed
Mr Clopp, a retired police officer, said: 'Aside from the two morons facing criminal charges, I saw a community once again come together for a cause.
'I've heard from hundreds of people offering assistance. Friends and strangers went to wash the memorial off.
'At the end of the day, the good outweighed and overwhelmed the bad. This is what Christian did during his life.
'He brought people together and he has accomplished that again.
'Perhaps the playground will be beautified, maybe expanded as a result. It doesn't matter, as long as it is enjoyed by thousands of children in the future.
'If we let anger prevail, we've lost the battle. Thanks again, everyone, for coming together and showing how great our community can be.'
Christian Clopp (pictured with his mother Joan) died of a brain tumor in 2012
In an earlier Facebook post he said: 'We do not personally know these individuals or why they would do such a thing.
'Losing a child is an horrific experience that, to say the least is life changing. When all you have are memories and someone does that it is heartbreaking.
'We will get past it and handle the matter intelligently through the justice system.
'While punishment will probably never change the way they think, we can only hope they someday learn empathy and pass it on.'
Police said they had investigated the 'disturbing' video and charged Bellace, from Egg Harbor City, with lewdness, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief.
Flippen, of Hammonton, is accused of having an open alcoholic beverage in a park.
According to an online obituary, Christian Clopp, born in 2002, dreamed of being a veterinarian and played soccer and mini-golf.
Christian was described as a 'child who always had a smile on his face, never complaining about his treatments'.
A plaque on the memorial reads: 'A child who made the world a better place through his courage, faith, smile, laughter and love of others.
'May your memory and inspiration live on forever.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7050267/New-Jersey-man-caught-URINATING-memorial-child.html
- A memorial for Christian Clopp, who died of brain cancer in 2012, was defaced
- Father Mark Clopp said he was 'disgusted', calling the two suspects 'scumbags'
- Police have arrested one man accused of urinating and another of filming it
Published: 12:22 EDT, 20 May 2019 | Updated: 13:01 EDT, 20 May 2019
Two men have been arrested after one of them allegedly urinated on a memorial for a nine-year-old boy who died of cancer.
Bryan Bellace, 23, is accused of defacing the monument in a park in Mays Landing, New Jersey, while Daniel Flippen, also 23, allegedly held a camera and laughed.
The memorial was dedicated for aspiring veterinarian Christian Clopp, who died of an inoperable brain tumor in February 2012.
His father Mark Clopp said he was 'disgusted' by the video, calling the suspects 'scumbags', but said his friends and neighbors had come together to clean up the memorial and the park.
Mr Clopp, a retired police officer, said: 'Aside from the two morons facing criminal charges, I saw a community once again come together for a cause.
'I've heard from hundreds of people offering assistance. Friends and strangers went to wash the memorial off.
'At the end of the day, the good outweighed and overwhelmed the bad. This is what Christian did during his life.
'He brought people together and he has accomplished that again.
'Perhaps the playground will be beautified, maybe expanded as a result. It doesn't matter, as long as it is enjoyed by thousands of children in the future.
'If we let anger prevail, we've lost the battle. Thanks again, everyone, for coming together and showing how great our community can be.'
Christian Clopp (pictured with his mother Joan) died of a brain tumor in 2012
In an earlier Facebook post he said: 'We do not personally know these individuals or why they would do such a thing.
'Losing a child is an horrific experience that, to say the least is life changing. When all you have are memories and someone does that it is heartbreaking.
'We will get past it and handle the matter intelligently through the justice system.
'While punishment will probably never change the way they think, we can only hope they someday learn empathy and pass it on.'
Police said they had investigated the 'disturbing' video and charged Bellace, from Egg Harbor City, with lewdness, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief.
Flippen, of Hammonton, is accused of having an open alcoholic beverage in a park.
According to an online obituary, Christian Clopp, born in 2002, dreamed of being a veterinarian and played soccer and mini-golf.
Christian was described as a 'child who always had a smile on his face, never complaining about his treatments'.
A plaque on the memorial reads: 'A child who made the world a better place through his courage, faith, smile, laughter and love of others.
'May your memory and inspiration live on forever.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7050267/New-Jersey-man-caught-URINATING-memorial-child.html
News
KKK-affiliated group drowned out by protesters in Ohio
By Eileen AJ Connelly
May 25, 2019 | 10:23pm
Protesters wave flags, signs, and rock body paint as they counter-protest a rally held by the KKK affiliated group Honorable Sacred Knights.
They came to demonstrate white supremacy but were drowned out by far superior numbers of a diverse group that opposed them.
Nine members of a KKK-affiliated group drew a roughly equal number of supporters to a rally Saturday in Dayton, Ohio. The racists, from Madison, Ind., covered their faces with bandannas as they carried a US flag, a Confederate flag and a KKK flag across the city’s Courthouse Square.
Separated by concrete barricades, fences and hundreds of cops from across the state, nearly 1,000 counter-protesters drowned out the Klansmen’s speeches by banging on drums, playing tubas and singing “Amazing Grace” with a church group from Greenville, Ohio.
https://nypost.com/2019/05/25/kkk-affiliated-group-drowned-out-by-protesters-in-ohio/
KKK-affiliated group drowned out by protesters in Ohio
By Eileen AJ Connelly
May 25, 2019 | 10:23pm
Protesters wave flags, signs, and rock body paint as they counter-protest a rally held by the KKK affiliated group Honorable Sacred Knights.
They came to demonstrate white supremacy but were drowned out by far superior numbers of a diverse group that opposed them.
Nine members of a KKK-affiliated group drew a roughly equal number of supporters to a rally Saturday in Dayton, Ohio. The racists, from Madison, Ind., covered their faces with bandannas as they carried a US flag, a Confederate flag and a KKK flag across the city’s Courthouse Square.
Separated by concrete barricades, fences and hundreds of cops from across the state, nearly 1,000 counter-protesters drowned out the Klansmen’s speeches by banging on drums, playing tubas and singing “Amazing Grace” with a church group from Greenville, Ohio.
https://nypost.com/2019/05/25/kkk-affiliated-group-drowned-out-by-protesters-in-ohio/
Woman cops say slammed Lower Manhattan McDonald’s patron in face with chair while spewing anti-Hispanic slurs arrested, charged with hate crime
By Graham Rayman
| New York Daily News |
May 29, 2019 | 11:07 AM
Video shows woman who has been busted after hitting man with chair at McDonald's, according to police.
A woman cops say spewed anti-Hispanic slurs at a McDonald’s patron and hit him in the face with a chair has been tracked down and arrested, authorities said Wednesday.
Rosa Portelli, 49, of Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, is accused of hitting the 33-year-old victim in the McDonald’s on Canal St. near Lafayette St. in Lower Manhattan about 10:25 a.m. March 25.
Portelli is charged with assault as a hate crime. She is being held without bail on Rikers Island on the assault charge and for an ongoing unrelated Brooklyn criminal contempt case.
Victim Miguel Ucho told the Daily News he was with his sister getting breakfast before visiting an immigration office when he was attacked. Ucho said he slid by the suspect to squeeze into the table next to her, and she then began the racist bad-mouthing.
"You f-----g immigrant, you f-----g Mexican,” she screamed as she allegedly picked up a chair and slammed Ecuador-born Ucho in the face, authorities say.
“You can’t do anything in that moment," Ucho told The News days after the incident. "She had a chair... you just freeze.”
Victim, Miguel Ucho. (Wes Parnell/New York Daily News)
The woman then went into the bathroom, came out with an umbrella and promptly started whacking Ucho with it. She fled and Ucho followed her.
He tried to speak to her and she kept hitting him with the umbrella. Ucho pulled out his phone to record her — but realized he hadn’t hit the record button.
Cops said the woman tried to escape into the subway system at Canal St. but couldn’t get past the turnstile.
Ucho suffered a bruise on his face. His head was swollen and scraped from the chair and he needed a CAT scan to check for brain injury, he said.
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-yor...cdonalds-1122a~~1~yes-art~curated~curatedpage
By Graham Rayman
| New York Daily News |
May 29, 2019 | 11:07 AM
Video shows woman who has been busted after hitting man with chair at McDonald's, according to police.
A woman cops say spewed anti-Hispanic slurs at a McDonald’s patron and hit him in the face with a chair has been tracked down and arrested, authorities said Wednesday.
Rosa Portelli, 49, of Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, is accused of hitting the 33-year-old victim in the McDonald’s on Canal St. near Lafayette St. in Lower Manhattan about 10:25 a.m. March 25.
Portelli is charged with assault as a hate crime. She is being held without bail on Rikers Island on the assault charge and for an ongoing unrelated Brooklyn criminal contempt case.
Victim Miguel Ucho told the Daily News he was with his sister getting breakfast before visiting an immigration office when he was attacked. Ucho said he slid by the suspect to squeeze into the table next to her, and she then began the racist bad-mouthing.
"You f-----g immigrant, you f-----g Mexican,” she screamed as she allegedly picked up a chair and slammed Ecuador-born Ucho in the face, authorities say.
“You can’t do anything in that moment," Ucho told The News days after the incident. "She had a chair... you just freeze.”
Victim, Miguel Ucho. (Wes Parnell/New York Daily News)
The woman then went into the bathroom, came out with an umbrella and promptly started whacking Ucho with it. She fled and Ucho followed her.
He tried to speak to her and she kept hitting him with the umbrella. Ucho pulled out his phone to record her — but realized he hadn’t hit the record button.
Cops said the woman tried to escape into the subway system at Canal St. but couldn’t get past the turnstile.
Ucho suffered a bruise on his face. His head was swollen and scraped from the chair and he needed a CAT scan to check for brain injury, he said.
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-yor...cdonalds-1122a~~1~yes-art~curated~curatedpage
Moby, humilitated over Natalie Portman dating claims, cancels book tour
By Tim Balk
| New York Daily News |
May 29, 2019 | 5:36 PM
Musician Moby (Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)
Then the book tour fell apart.
Moby, who claimed in his memoir, "Then It Fell Apart,” that he dated actress Natalie Portman — who later disputed the claim — has seemingly decided it’s time to lay low for a while.
The musician responded to a storm of criticism and mockery after Portman said they had a “creepy” friendship when she was 18 by posting an apology on his Instagram on Saturday.
And now he’s bailing on his book tour with four stops in the U.K. and Ireland still on the schedule, according to a note on his website.
Natalie Portman (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Moby initially pushed back on Portman’s claims that they didn’t date, posting a picture of himself shirtless with Portman and writing on Instagram that, “I recently read a gossip piece wherein Natalie Portman said that we’d never dated. This confused me, as we did, in fact, date.”
[More U.S. News] Storm chaser proposes to boyfriend as Kansas tornado approaches »
He seemed to back off with the Instagram apology over the weekend, writing “it was truly inconsiderate of me to not let her know about her inclusion in the book."
He added, "I accept that given the dynamic of our almost 14-year age difference I absolutely should’ve acted more responsibly and respectfully when Natalie and I first met almost 20 years ago,” slightly understating the age difference between the two, which is more than 15 years, according to publicly available birth dates.
The apology did not explicitly address the point of dispute about whether they dated.
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/na...0190529-op7ciwv7yre6rlbbyvdkvvlmwe-story.html
By Tim Balk
| New York Daily News |
May 29, 2019 | 5:36 PM
Musician Moby (Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)
Then the book tour fell apart.
Moby, who claimed in his memoir, "Then It Fell Apart,” that he dated actress Natalie Portman — who later disputed the claim — has seemingly decided it’s time to lay low for a while.
The musician responded to a storm of criticism and mockery after Portman said they had a “creepy” friendship when she was 18 by posting an apology on his Instagram on Saturday.
And now he’s bailing on his book tour with four stops in the U.K. and Ireland still on the schedule, according to a note on his website.
Natalie Portman (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Moby initially pushed back on Portman’s claims that they didn’t date, posting a picture of himself shirtless with Portman and writing on Instagram that, “I recently read a gossip piece wherein Natalie Portman said that we’d never dated. This confused me, as we did, in fact, date.”
[More U.S. News] Storm chaser proposes to boyfriend as Kansas tornado approaches »
He seemed to back off with the Instagram apology over the weekend, writing “it was truly inconsiderate of me to not let her know about her inclusion in the book."
He added, "I accept that given the dynamic of our almost 14-year age difference I absolutely should’ve acted more responsibly and respectfully when Natalie and I first met almost 20 years ago,” slightly understating the age difference between the two, which is more than 15 years, according to publicly available birth dates.
The apology did not explicitly address the point of dispute about whether they dated.
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/na...0190529-op7ciwv7yre6rlbbyvdkvvlmwe-story.html
Dad who made his kids have sex with him, his wife, ex-wife and dog gets 341 years
Christopher Sena, from Las Vegas, US, was convicted of committing the sickening abuse over a 12-year period
- Share
Matthew Dresch
- 03:01, 30 MAY 2019
- Updated03:47, 30 MAY 2019
Christopher Sena has been handed 54 life sentence for the abuse (Image: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)
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A dad who forced his children to have sex with him and their family dog for 12 years has been handed 54 life sentences.
Christopher Sena, 52, from Las Vegas, America, recorded videos of some of the horrific acts, which were shown to the jury at his trial.
His ex-wives Deborah Sena, 53, and Terrie Sena, 48, have also been sent to prison for a minimum of 10 years each for being 'willing participants' in the abuse.
Sena recorded his children having sex with him, their mum and stepmum against their will, according to reports.
Debbie Sena (Image: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police De)
His crimes were described as 'highly selfish' and 'very perverted' by Judge William Kephart, the Metro reports.
The dad, who has been in jail since 2014, was convicted earlier this year and has only now been sentenced.
During his trial, prosecutor James Seetin said: "‘This was all done without concern for the children or anyone else.
"This is what he wanted, and this is what he got."
The Las Vegas Review Journal reported that one of his victims, now an adult, said she suffered years of 'evil' abuse 'all for his selfish desires'.
Terrie Sena (Image: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)
She reportedly told the judge she was trying to move on with her life and had recently graduated from university.
The victim added: “I was just an object for him to do awful things to because there was no one there to tell him otherwise.
"It was better without him in my life.”
Sena's crimes were uncovered in 2014 after a SWAT raid on his trailer.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/dad-who-made-kids-sex-16223180
Shit like this will get you killed.Outrage as New Jersey man 'is caught URINATING' on memorial for a nine-year-old boy who died of a brain tumor while his friend films it and LAUGHS
By Tim Stickings For Dailymail.com
- A memorial for Christian Clopp, who died of brain cancer in 2012, was defaced
- Father Mark Clopp said he was 'disgusted', calling the two suspects 'scumbags'
- Police have arrested one man accused of urinating and another of filming it
Published: 12:22 EDT, 20 May 2019 | Updated: 13:01 EDT, 20 May 2019
Two men have been arrested after one of them allegedly urinated on a memorial for a nine-year-old boy who died of cancer.
Bryan Bellace, 23, is accused of defacing the monument in a park in Mays Landing, New Jersey, while Daniel Flippen, also 23, allegedly held a camera and laughed.
The memorial was dedicated for aspiring veterinarian Christian Clopp, who died of an inoperable brain tumor in February 2012.
His father Mark Clopp said he was 'disgusted' by the video, calling the suspects 'scumbags', but said his friends and neighbors had come together to clean up the memorial and the park.
Two men have been arrested after one of them allegedly urinated on a memorial for a nine-year-old boy who died of cancer. Another man is said to have filmed the scene and laughed
Mr Clopp, a retired police officer, said: 'Aside from the two morons facing criminal charges, I saw a community once again come together for a cause.
'I've heard from hundreds of people offering assistance. Friends and strangers went to wash the memorial off.
'At the end of the day, the good outweighed and overwhelmed the bad. This is what Christian did during his life.
'He brought people together and he has accomplished that again.
'Perhaps the playground will be beautified, maybe expanded as a result. It doesn't matter, as long as it is enjoyed by thousands of children in the future.
'If we let anger prevail, we've lost the battle. Thanks again, everyone, for coming together and showing how great our community can be.'
Christian Clopp (pictured with his mother Joan) died of a brain tumor in 2012
In an earlier Facebook post he said: 'We do not personally know these individuals or why they would do such a thing.
'Losing a child is an horrific experience that, to say the least is life changing. When all you have are memories and someone does that it is heartbreaking.
'We will get past it and handle the matter intelligently through the justice system.
'While punishment will probably never change the way they think, we can only hope they someday learn empathy and pass it on.'
Police said they had investigated the 'disturbing' video and charged Bellace, from Egg Harbor City, with lewdness, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief.
Flippen, of Hammonton, is accused of having an open alcoholic beverage in a park.
According to an online obituary, Christian Clopp, born in 2002, dreamed of being a veterinarian and played soccer and mini-golf.
Christian was described as a 'child who always had a smile on his face, never complaining about his treatments'.
A plaque on the memorial reads: 'A child who made the world a better place through his courage, faith, smile, laughter and love of others.
'May your memory and inspiration live on forever.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7050267/New-Jersey-man-caught-URINATING-memorial-child.html
"Shoot him in the belly!"Typical trashy dirt poor trump supporter family. Worthless idiots
That got to be his step dad or just a dude hitting his mom. Ain't no way in hell this is real
German nurse given second life sentence for murder of 85 patients
Niels Högel, who used drugs to cause cardiac arrests, confirmed as country’s worst postwar serial killer
Philip Oltermannin Berlin
@philipoltermann
Thu 6 Jun 201911.54 EDTFirst published on Thu 6 Jun 201905.25 EDT
152
Niels Högel used various drugs to orchestrate cardiac arrests in patients in order to show off his resuscitation skills. Photograph: David Hecker/Getty Images
When Niels Högel, a nurse, worked shifts at two clinics in the northern German towns of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst in the early 2000s, the hospital rota showed a mysterious spike in patients who experienced sudden cardiac arrests and had to be reanimated.
Yet the bullish man in his late 20s was allowed to go about his business undisturbed until a colleague caught him in the act in 2005: for at least half a decade, Högel had systematically injected patients with cardiovascular medication in order to orchestrate a medical emergency and show off his resuscitation skills.
On Thursday, a district court in Oldenburg sentenced the now 42-year-old to a second life sentence in prison, revealing the full horror of his actions: Högel was found guilty of the murder of 85 patients in his care, some of them as young as 34, others as old as 96.
The ruling not only confirms Högel as the worst serial killer in the history of postwarGermany, but also raises uncomfortable questions about how a man colleagues referred to as “Lifesaver Rambo” managed to go unnoticed so long in an environment where the protection of vulnerable individuals should have been paramount.
Addressing Högel at the district court in Oldenburg on Thursday, the judge Sebastian Bührmann said that his crimes were “beyond comprehension”. “The human mind capitulates in the face of the sheer number of deeds,” he said.
Police suspect that Högel’s final death toll may be more than 200, while one spokesperson for a group of the victims’ relatives put the number as high as 300. But the court was unable to say for sure because of gaps in his memory and because many possible victims were cremated before autopsies could be performed.
He was handed the most severe form of life sentence possible under German law, which precludes the possibility of an early release after serving 15 years if the court judges there is a “severe gravity of guilt”.
After his arrest in 2005, Högel initially only went on trial for the murder of the 63-year-old patient he was caught injecting with a lethal dose of Ajmaline. But media attention encouraged further relatives to come forward, and Högel was jailed for his first life sentence in February 2015, for two murders and several attempted murders of intensive care patients at Delmenhorst hospital in Lower Saxony.
German police subsequently unearthed evidence of further murders after analysing scores of patient files and exhuming more than 130 bodies in Germany, Poland and Turkey, starting during his employment at another hospital and continuing after he was caught in the act by a colleague.
During a trial that started in October 2018, Högel was accused of 100 counts of murder. He was cleared of only 14 counts, and confessed to 43 murders. In 52 instances, he said he simply could not remember.
Some relatives of possible victims on Thursday said they struggled with the uncertainty of not knowing if their loved one was murdered or not. “It’s very, very tough,” said Frank Brinkers, who lost his father.
“I went through hell,” Brinkers told the German news agency dpa, adding that he had hoped his father’s case would turn out to be unequivocal. “It appears that wasn’t meant to be.”
In the last hearing before Thursday’s sentencing, Högel had asked the relatives of his victims for forgiveness. “I want to apologise wholeheartedly to every single one of you for what I have done over the years,” he said on Wednesday. Over the course of the trial, he said, he had come to realise the amount of suffering his “terrible deeds” had caused.
But many observers have started to question the sincerity of Högel’s statements. Until eventually confessing to some of the killings, the nurse had sworn on his daughter’s life that he had not killed anyone. One expert witness described Högel as a “competent liar”.
Gaby Lübben, one of the lawyers representing victims’ relatives, told the newspaper, Bild, that Högel’s apology was not credible: “He only acted out his remorse to gather plus points […] He should have stayed silent.”
A psychiatrist expert witness said during the trial that while the accused nurse had displayed traits of noticeable personality disorders, such as a lack of shame, guilt and empathy, they were not so severe as to nullify responsibility.
The question of whether Högel’s killings could or should have been prevented will be the subject of further court hearings. The state prosecutor believes that the nurse’s colleagues in Delmenhorst had enough clues pointing to the gruesome motive behind his actions from at least 9 or 10 May 2005 that they would have been “obligated to intervene”.
They only did so more than a month later, on 22 June, after Högel was caught in the act of administering a lethal injection to a patient.
Four of the nurse’s former colleagues at the Delmenhorst clinic, including two senior doctors, the head of the intensive care unit and one of his deputies, are yet to appear in court accused of manslaughter.
Christian Marbach, whose grandfather was found to be one of Högel’s victims in a previous trial, called the outcome a “milestone”, but insisted that further investigations into conduct at the two clinics were required. “Now it is very important that those who were in positions of power be brought to justice,” he said.
•This article was amended on 7 June 2019 to remove a phrase that was inconsistent with the Guardian style guide.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...el-second-life-sentence-murder-of-85-patients
Niels Högel, who used drugs to cause cardiac arrests, confirmed as country’s worst postwar serial killer
Philip Oltermannin Berlin
@philipoltermann
Thu 6 Jun 201911.54 EDTFirst published on Thu 6 Jun 201905.25 EDT
152
Niels Högel used various drugs to orchestrate cardiac arrests in patients in order to show off his resuscitation skills. Photograph: David Hecker/Getty Images
When Niels Högel, a nurse, worked shifts at two clinics in the northern German towns of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst in the early 2000s, the hospital rota showed a mysterious spike in patients who experienced sudden cardiac arrests and had to be reanimated.
Yet the bullish man in his late 20s was allowed to go about his business undisturbed until a colleague caught him in the act in 2005: for at least half a decade, Högel had systematically injected patients with cardiovascular medication in order to orchestrate a medical emergency and show off his resuscitation skills.
On Thursday, a district court in Oldenburg sentenced the now 42-year-old to a second life sentence in prison, revealing the full horror of his actions: Högel was found guilty of the murder of 85 patients in his care, some of them as young as 34, others as old as 96.
The ruling not only confirms Högel as the worst serial killer in the history of postwarGermany, but also raises uncomfortable questions about how a man colleagues referred to as “Lifesaver Rambo” managed to go unnoticed so long in an environment where the protection of vulnerable individuals should have been paramount.
Addressing Högel at the district court in Oldenburg on Thursday, the judge Sebastian Bührmann said that his crimes were “beyond comprehension”. “The human mind capitulates in the face of the sheer number of deeds,” he said.
Police suspect that Högel’s final death toll may be more than 200, while one spokesperson for a group of the victims’ relatives put the number as high as 300. But the court was unable to say for sure because of gaps in his memory and because many possible victims were cremated before autopsies could be performed.
He was handed the most severe form of life sentence possible under German law, which precludes the possibility of an early release after serving 15 years if the court judges there is a “severe gravity of guilt”.
After his arrest in 2005, Högel initially only went on trial for the murder of the 63-year-old patient he was caught injecting with a lethal dose of Ajmaline. But media attention encouraged further relatives to come forward, and Högel was jailed for his first life sentence in February 2015, for two murders and several attempted murders of intensive care patients at Delmenhorst hospital in Lower Saxony.
German police subsequently unearthed evidence of further murders after analysing scores of patient files and exhuming more than 130 bodies in Germany, Poland and Turkey, starting during his employment at another hospital and continuing after he was caught in the act by a colleague.
During a trial that started in October 2018, Högel was accused of 100 counts of murder. He was cleared of only 14 counts, and confessed to 43 murders. In 52 instances, he said he simply could not remember.
Some relatives of possible victims on Thursday said they struggled with the uncertainty of not knowing if their loved one was murdered or not. “It’s very, very tough,” said Frank Brinkers, who lost his father.
“I went through hell,” Brinkers told the German news agency dpa, adding that he had hoped his father’s case would turn out to be unequivocal. “It appears that wasn’t meant to be.”
In the last hearing before Thursday’s sentencing, Högel had asked the relatives of his victims for forgiveness. “I want to apologise wholeheartedly to every single one of you for what I have done over the years,” he said on Wednesday. Over the course of the trial, he said, he had come to realise the amount of suffering his “terrible deeds” had caused.
But many observers have started to question the sincerity of Högel’s statements. Until eventually confessing to some of the killings, the nurse had sworn on his daughter’s life that he had not killed anyone. One expert witness described Högel as a “competent liar”.
Gaby Lübben, one of the lawyers representing victims’ relatives, told the newspaper, Bild, that Högel’s apology was not credible: “He only acted out his remorse to gather plus points […] He should have stayed silent.”
A psychiatrist expert witness said during the trial that while the accused nurse had displayed traits of noticeable personality disorders, such as a lack of shame, guilt and empathy, they were not so severe as to nullify responsibility.
The question of whether Högel’s killings could or should have been prevented will be the subject of further court hearings. The state prosecutor believes that the nurse’s colleagues in Delmenhorst had enough clues pointing to the gruesome motive behind his actions from at least 9 or 10 May 2005 that they would have been “obligated to intervene”.
They only did so more than a month later, on 22 June, after Högel was caught in the act of administering a lethal injection to a patient.
Four of the nurse’s former colleagues at the Delmenhorst clinic, including two senior doctors, the head of the intensive care unit and one of his deputies, are yet to appear in court accused of manslaughter.
Christian Marbach, whose grandfather was found to be one of Högel’s victims in a previous trial, called the outcome a “milestone”, but insisted that further investigations into conduct at the two clinics were required. “Now it is very important that those who were in positions of power be brought to justice,” he said.
•This article was amended on 7 June 2019 to remove a phrase that was inconsistent with the Guardian style guide.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...el-second-life-sentence-murder-of-85-patients
