The murderous nurse
One of the most notorious serial killers in Scandinavian history is the Norwegian Arnfinn Nesset, who is said to have killed over 100 patients during his career as a nurse. However, only 22 murders of patients could actually be proven. Arnfinn Nesset was born on October 25, 1936, in Trøndelag as an illegitimate child and grew up with his mother. From 1962, he worked as a nurse in various nursing homes until the bald, bespectacled Arnfinn Nesset became director of the Ordale Valley Nursing Home in 1977. After he took up this position, more and more patients died there. In 1981, an employee of the nursing home noticed that large quantities of Curacit, a derivative containing the same poison that South American Indians use on their arrowheads when hunting and which is used as a muscle relaxant, had been ordered. Due to the high mortality rate and the large quantity of Curacit purchased, the employee informed the police, who summoned Arnfinn Nesset, who was responsible for ordering the drug, for questioning. Nesset initially claimed that he had purchased the drug to kill a pack of wild dogs that were causing trouble not far from the nursing home. However, for inexplicable reasons, he corrected his statement and confessed to murdering 27 patients between 1977 and November 1980. During the interrogation of 46-year-old Arnfinn Nesset, he became increasingly talkative and confessed to many more murders of patients in the three nursing homes where he had once worked. His motives varied depending on his mood. They ranged from schizophrenia and the desire to kill to mercy killings, which is why he was examined by four independent psychiatrists before the trial began, who deemed him mentally competent. He considered himself a kind of demigod who could decide on the life and death of his patients at will. His trial began in October 1982. Arnfinn Nesset was charged with 27 counts of murder and five counts of forgery and embezzlement. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. However, the jury saw things differently and, after a five-month trial, found him guilty on March 11, 1983, of murdering 22 people. The other 5 murders could not be attributed to him, as Curacit cannot be detected in the body after a certain amount of time. Arnfinn Nesset was sentenced to 21 years in prison, the maximum sentence under Norwegian law. In 2004, Arnfinn Nesset was released and given a new identity.
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