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Aino Nykopp-Koski (60), a nurse, has been convicted of murdering five of her patients and attempting to murder another five patients. Nykopp-Koski was sentenced yesterday in Helsinki to life in prison.

The media reported that:

Nykopp-Koski, 60, killed the patients, aged between 70 and 91, with drugs they had not been prescribed, including sedatives and opiates.

The murders took place at various hospitals, care homes and patients’ homes between 2004 and 2009, the court heard.

Media reported that the court had not been able to determine any motive for the crimes.

The Finnish media stated:

Between 2004 and 2009, Aino Nykopp medically poisoned elderly people in her care as well as one of her coworkers while working as a nurse.

The District Court published the conclusions of Nykopp’s psychiatric examination at the end of November. Psychiatrists found that she had carried out her actions fully understanding their consequences, though suffering from a sociopathic personality disorder. As such, she is criminally responsible for her actions, which had no apparent motive.

When reading the news reports about Nykopp-Koski, it reminded me of the American serial killing physician Michael Swango.

Swango had no apparent motive, but is estimated to have killed between 35 – 60 patients from 1983 – 1997.

The book “Blind Eye” that was written by James B. Stewart tells the story of Swango, a physician who received countless complaints and accusations concerning his acts of killing, but the medical establishment would turn a “Blind Eye” to the complaints of the public in favor of the good looking charming Swango, he then continued his killing spree. Even after being forced to move from a medical post, he was able to find a new position in another location.

It appears that the Finnish authorities have caught a similar predator.

The real stories of Michael Swango and Aino Nykopp-Koski should be enough to convince society that keeping euthanasia illegal is a public safety issue.

If Nykopp-Koski had been killing patients in Belgium, she would likely get away with the acts, especially now that studies have proven that 32% of all euthanasia deaths are done without explicit request or consent and nearly half of all euthanasia deaths are not reported in Belgium.