Frédéric V., a former nurse at the La Méridienne care home in the municipality of Meux in the Namur province has been accused of the murder of a patient and the attempted murder of another one, and has also been linked to 19 other suspicious deaths.
An investigation was launched when a patient of the care home, born in 1930, went to the hospital in September 2017 and died shortly afterwards. At first, the death was not considered suspicious, but analysis showed that the patient had an abnormally high level of insulin.
In 2017, the nurse was arrested on suspicion of poisoning his patients, both privately and in the care home where he worked at the time.
However, a recent psychiatric rapport stated that he "cannot be held accountable for his actions", meaning it is possible he will not receive a prison sentence, but will be sent to a psychiatric hospital instead, reports Sudpresse.
Since his arrest, the man has made varying statements and denied any form of involvement. A new psychiatric report now shows that the man cannot be held responsible for his actions, reports Het Nieuwsblad.
He has been in custody for 26 months and will appear before the judge in Dinant in January 2020.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
