[Serial killings in a nursing home for the elderly].

In 2005, a 27-year-old nurse had been sentenced to life imprisonment for killing 9 female residents of the home within 3 years. After the post-mortem examination a natural death had been certified for all the victims. These 9 deaths were retrospectively analysed as to the motive and circumstances of the crime, the method applied, the results of the postmortem examination and the autopsy as well as the profile of the perpetrator. 8 victims had been smothered by blocking the external air passages with a soft fabric and one had been killed by omitting to remove secretion from the respiratory tract. The autopsies performed after exhumation did not furnish unequivocal evidence of homicide. Generally, the method of killing applied in these cases is known to leave almost no traces. Apart from the circumstantial evidence, the court had to base its decision on the confessions of the emotionally disturbed perpetrator, although she partly revoked these confessions later.