Frans Hooijmaijers

Frans Hooijmaijers (October 24, 1935 – August 20, 2006), known as Fat Frans , was a Dutch serial killer and former nurse who was convicted for killing five patients at a hospital in Kerkrade from 1970 to 1975, but was suspected to have killed approximately 259 people. After serving 18 years for his confirmed murders, he was released in 1987 and lived as a free man until his death in 2006.

Early life Frans Hooijmaijers was born on October 24, 1935, in Kerkrade. While little is known of his childhood, he was considered an outcast at school due to being overweight and having a cleft lip, due to which he was often the target of bullying from his peers. Hooijmaijers used to want to be a stage actor, but his father, who regularly beat him, prevented him from doing so. Later on, when his father became seriously ill, Frans became his caretaker until his death, after which he took over control of the family. His bond with his mother deepened, and Hooijmaijers would often give her gifts.

From 1970 to 1975, he worked at the Lückerheide Clinic's so-called 'Nightingale Ward', which was reserved mainly for elderly patients with mental or physical illnesses. Despite initially claiming responsibility for 15 murders and saying that he had done to release them from their misery, Hooijmaijers later retracted the confession, instead claiming that he was guilty only of administering non-fatal doses without permission. His lawyer also claimed that the high sugar levels of some of the patients were an indication that his client had not tampered with them, which was contested by the prosecutors.

In spite of this, he was found guilty of five murders and sentenced to two life terms and a 23-year ban on practising as a nurse, with the prosecutors claiming that they would seek charges in other deaths. By the time it had ended, it had become the most expensive trial against an individual in the country at the time.

However, the sentence was reduced to 18 years stemming from an appeal in 1977. Hooijmaijers served his prison sentence until early 1987, when he was released and lived as a free man until his death from natural causes on August 20, 2006.