Stephan Letter

{{Infobox murderer

| name = Stephan Letter

| image =

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| birth_name =

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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|df=y|9|17}}

| birth_place = Herdecke, North Rhine-Westphalia

| death_date =

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| conviction = Murder, manslaughter

| sentence = Life imprisonment

| victims = 29+

| beginyear = January 2003

| endyear = July 2004

| country = Germany

| states =

| apprehended = 29 July 2004

| imprisoned = Straubing

}}

Stephan Letter (born 17 September 1978) is a German serial killer and former nurse responsible for the murder of at least 29 patients while he worked at a hospital in Sonthofen, Bavaria, between January 2003 and July 2004. His murders were described as the largest number of killings in Germany since the Second World War, until the discovery of Niels Högel's crimes.{{cite web|title=Nurse Guilty of Killing 28 Patients|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2006-11/21/content_738569.htm|publisher=China Daily|accessdate=24 June 2013}}

Biography

Letter was a nurse at a hospital that treated a large elderly population.{{cite web|url=http://www.dw.de/angel-of-death-nurse-trial-begins/a-1894555905.html|title="Angel of Death" Nurse Trial Begins|accessdate=24 June 2013|newspaper=The Independent|date=8 February 2006}} During his employment from January 2003 to July 2004, a pattern of more than 80 deaths occurred on his shifts.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}} Officials exhumed the bodies of more than 40 patients, but another 38 had already been cremated. Letter became a suspect after officials learned that large quantities of drugs, including the paralytic drug Lysthenon, had gone missing from the hospital. Unsealed medication vials were found in Letter's apartment.{{cite web|last=Pohl|first=Michael|title=German Nurse Convicted in 28 Murders|url=http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=107862|publisher=KSDK|accessdate=24 June 2013}}

In February 2006, Letter was brought to trial for the deaths of 29 patients. His charges included 16 counts of murder, 12 counts of manslaughter and one count of killing on request. Most of the patients were older than 75,{{cite web|title="Angel of Death" Nurse Trial Begins|url=http://www.dw.de/angel-of-death-nurse-trial-begins/a-1894555|publisher=Deutsche Welle|accessdate=24 June 2013}} but they ranged in age from 40 to 94. Letter also reportedly gave an inappropriate injection to a 22-year-old soldier with minor injuries from a fall; she lost consciousness but recovered.{{cite web|title=German Nurse Charged in 29 Patient Deaths Goes on Proceedings for Murder|date=7 February 2006 |url=http://english.pravda.ru/news/world/07-02-2006/75528-0/|publisher=Pravda.ru|accessdate=24 June 2013}} Letter confessed to some of the killings but insisted that he had acted out of sympathy and a desire to end the suffering of sick patients. However, the prosecution indicated that Letter was not the assigned nurse for some of the patients and that some of them were in stable condition and were due to be released from the hospital.{{cite news|last=Cleaver|first=Hannah|title=Angel of Death "Driven by Kindness"|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/1509971/Angel-of-Death-driven-by-kindness.html|accessdate=24 June 2013|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=8 February 2006|location=London}} In November, Letter was found guilty of the murders and was sentenced to life imprisonment.[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article643168.ece Germany's Angel of Death Sentenced to Life in Prison]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}. Times Online. Retrieved 24 June 2013. He is imprisoned in Straubing.

Letter's killings have been characterized as the worst killing spree in Germany since the Second World War.