A former nurse in western Germany convicted of murdering 10 patients might be linked to more than 100 additional deaths, officials revealed. Katja Schlenkermann-Pitts, the chief public prosecutor in Aachen, told the BBC there is "a correspondingly high number of suspicious cases" under review. She stressed these are early suspicions, and some may be dismissed after forensic checks. The nurse, whose name has not been made public, was sentenced in November 2024 to life in prison after a regional court in Aachen found him guilty of 10 murders and 27 attempted murders. The court said he administered excessive sedatives and painkillers to seriously ill patients during night shifts at Rhein-Maas hospital in Würselen, sometimes repeatedly and without medical need. The drugs caused fatal results, and he knew the risks. Prosecutors said his actions stemmed from personal discomfort and a wish to control the night shifts. Though the nurse denied the charges in court, saying he only tried to help patients sleep and did not expect deaths, prosecutors accused him of playing "master of life and death" and lacking empathy, especially toward patients needing more care. The initial crimes happened between December 2023 and May 2024. The newly suspected cases mostly date from earlier times. Investigators ordered about 60 exhumations; 27 have happened, and around 30 more are planned. Autopsy results will help decide if new charges follow, but Schlenkermann-Pitts warned "they may still be dropped." Cologne prosecutors are also probing deaths linked to hospitals where he worked before moving to Würselen, about 65 km away. Two exhumations were done so far, including a 94-year-old woman who died in 2018 and a 78-year-old patient who died in 2015, with more on the way. Officials say new charges may be prepared, but legal proceedings likely won't start before 2027. This case echoes that of nurse Niels Högel, Germany's most prolific modern killer, jailed for murdering 85 patients in northern hospitals by 2019.