German killer nurse suspected of 84 more murders - police

The man could be one of Germany's most prolific serial killers

FILE PHOTO: Former nurse Niels H. masks his face with a folder on his arrival in the courtroom at the regional court in Oldenburg, Germany, December 9, 2014.      REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo
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A German nurse jailed for murdering two patients is suspected of killing at least 84 other people, police said on Monday.

If convicted, the man identified only as Niels H. under reporting rules, would be one of Germany's most prolific serial killers.

In past hearings, he admitted deliberately injecting patients at two clinics in northern Germany with deadly drugs and then trying to revive them in order to play the hero, German broadcaster NDR said.

The man, now aged 40, was convicted in the northern city of Oldenburg of two charges of attempted murder and two counts of murder in 2015.

Investigators uncovered the additional murder cases after digging up the remains of 134 people with links to the man, police said.

Oldenburg police chief Johann Kuehme told journalists the number of victims could be even higher as some of the deceased had been cremated, according to NDR.