Arnfinn Nesset (born 25 October 1936) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

former nurse and nursing home manager and a convicted

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

. His crimes include the murders of at least 22 people, as well as attempted murder,

document forgery A false document is a technique by which an author aims to increase verisimilitude in a work of fiction by inventing and inserting or mentioning documents that appear to be factual. The goal of a false document is to convince an audience that what ...

, and

embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

. He may have murdered up to 138 people. In 1983, he was convicted of poisoning 22 patients and sentenced to 21 years in prison. He served 12 years and 10 years supervision and is thought to be living under an assumed name.

Early life

Born in

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...

in 1936 out of wedlock, Nesset was raised by his mother, remained with her throughout his upbringing and adulthood, and lived at her childhood home. His father was absent from his life and never established contact with him. He was educated as a

registered nurse A registered nurse (RN) is a nurse who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized licensing body to o ...

and by 1977 had been hired as a head nurse at a larger

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...

Orkdal Orkdal is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it joined Orkland Municipality. It was part of the Orkdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipal ...

Sør-Trøndelag Sør-Trøndelag () was a county comprising the southern portion of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Nord-Trøndelag county as well as the counties of Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, and Hedmark. To the west is the No ...

Crimes

During the summer and the autumn of 1981, a series of suspicious deaths was uncovered at the nursing home in Orkdal in which Nesset was the manager. When questioned by police, Nesset initially confessed to the murders of 27 patients, whom he claimed to have killed by injecting them with suxamethonium chloride, a drug to paralyze muscles. He was charged with 25 counts of homicide but later retracted his confession and denied all charges for the rest of his five-month trial.

Trial

Nesset was convicted in March 1983 of poisoning 22 patients with suxamethonium chloride. He was also convicted of one count of attempted murder and acquitted on two other counts. Nesset may have killed as many as 138 of his patients. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison, the maximum term then available under Norwegian law, to be followed by ten years of preventative detention. However, he was released after serving 12 years of the sentence for good behaviour and 10 years of supervision. He is now reported to be living in an undisclosed location under an assumed name. The chief prosecutor at his trial, Olaf Jakhelln described Nesset as "an ambitious man, who wanted complete control over life and death f his victims"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nesset, Arnfinn 1936 births 20th-century Norwegian criminals Living people Male serial killers Medical serial killers Norwegian male criminals Norwegian nurses Norwegian people convicted of murder Norwegian serial killers Nurses convicted of killing patients People convicted of murder by Norway Poisoners

Early life

Crimes

Trial

See also

References