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Vienna's Angels of Death: Nurses Killed 300 Patients
9 Dec
Summary
- Two nurses murdered up to 300 patients over seven years.
- Victims were given overdoses of painkillers and drowned.
- Hospital staff offered a 'wall of silence' to investigators.
A chilling seven-year killing spree by a group of nurses, dubbed the 'Angels of Death,' at Vienna's Lainz hospital has been revealed. Waltraud Wagner and Irene Leidolf are believed to have murdered up to 300 patients between 1983 and 1989. Their horrific methods included administering lethal overdoses of painkillers and tranquilisers, as well as drowning patients by forcing water down their throats.
The investigation into these atrocities was severely hampered by a 'wall of silence' from hospital administrators. Despite the obstruction, the serial killers were eventually apprehended after a doctor overheard them discussing their crimes at a local pub. The victims were predominantly elderly, with most over the age of 75.
Wagner and Leidolf were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1991. However, they were released on conditional terms in 2008 due to good behavior. Their accomplices, Maria Gruber and Stefanija Mayer, were convicted as accessories and released earlier with new identities.
