Niels Högel
German serial killer and former nurse (born 1976)
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Key Takeaways
- Niels Högel (born 30 December 1976) is a German serial killer and former nurse who was sentenced to life imprisonment, initially for the murders of six patients, and later convicted of a total of eighty-five murders.
- Early life and education Niels Högel was born in the coastal town of Wilhelmshaven, Lower Saxony, in West Germany.
- His mother worked as a paralegal; he has an older sister.
- His grandmother also worked as a nurse.
Niels Högel (born 30 December 1976) is a German serial killer and former nurse who was sentenced to life imprisonment, initially for the murders of six patients, and later convicted of a total of eighty-five murders. Estimates of Högel's alleged victim count have increased since his first conviction; as of 2020, he was believed to have claimed 300 victims in just over five years, making him the most prolific serial killer in the history of peacetime Germany, and possibly the world.
Early life and education
Niels Högel was born in the coastal town of Wilhelmshaven, Lower Saxony, in West Germany. His father worked as a nurse at the Sankt-Willehad-Hospital in Wilhelmshaven. His mother worked as a paralegal; he has an older sister. According to Högel, he had a sheltered or "protected" childhood and was not exposed to violence at home. His grandmother also worked as a nurse.
Career
After completing his vocational training in 1997 at the Sankt-Willehad Hospital, Högel became a nurse and continued working there.
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