Waltraud Wagner

Background

Waltraud Wagner was an Austrian nurse nicknamed a “Death Angel.” She was 49 at the time of her conviction.

Two Austrian nurses, Waltraud Wagner and Irene Leidolf, were known as “death angels” after killing at least 20 elderly patients.

The offence

Waltraud Wagner was convicted of “15 murders, 17 attempts, and 2 counts of assault.”

The convictions related to a seven-year killing spree at Vienna’s Lainz hospital, between 1983 and 1989.

During their trial, prosecutors said the women forced water into patients’ lungs and injected them with large doses of insulin and tranquilisers, causing “terrible suffering.”

Waltraud Wagner and Irene Leidolf argued that their actions were mercy killings of old and chronically ill patients.

Trial

Wagner and Irene Leidolf were convicted in 1991 of taking part in the seven-year killing spree at Vienna’s Lainz hospital, between 1983 and 1989.

During the trial, prosecutors said the women had forced water into patients’ lungs and injected them with large doses of insulin and tranquilisers, causing “terrible suffering”.

Wagner and Leidolf argued that their actions were mercy killings of old and chronically ill patients.

Both women were sentenced to life in prison.

Sentencing

Both Wagner and Irene Leidolf were sentenced to life in prison. The Justice Ministry later approved their conditional release on the grounds of good behaviour.

Outcome

The country’s Justice Ministry approved Wagner and Leidolf for conditional release, on grounds of good behaviour.

Wagner and Leidolf were scheduled to be released early from prison “next month.”

Officials refused to comment on whether Wagner and Leidolf would receive new identities.

Other people and accomplices

Two accomplices, Maria Gruber and Stefanija Mayer, were convicted as accessories on lesser charges of attempted murder and manslaughter.

Gruber and Mayer were released a few years ago and were issued with new identities as a precaution against vigilantes.

Confessions and disputed details

The four women initially admitted involvement in the deaths of up to 42 elderly patients, but police said they later retracted most of those confessions.

Aftermath

The imminent release of Wagner and Leidolf caused widespread outrage in Austria.

The newspaper Heute led with the headline “The death angels are getting out!”.

The case led some Austrians to question whether their sentencing system, in which the maximum life term usually means 15 years, was harsh enough.

Vienna bookkeeper Anna Rietsch said:

"It's inhumane and immoral to execute a killer, but it's not fair to their victims' loved ones when a killer can look forward to a nice life outside prison."

Austria was also described as “still reeling” from the scandal involving Josef Fritzl. Prosecutors said he had imprisoned a daughter for 24 years and used her as a sex slave. Fritzl was described as a retired engineer. He was expected to go on trial before the end of the year for allegedly holding his daughter Elisabeth captive in a windowless cell from the age of 18 and fathering seven children with her. The material stated that Fritzl could face a murder charge after it emerged one of the babies died and the body was allegedly tossed into a furnace.

The material also referenced Natascha Kampusch, who was described as having been 18 at the time she escaped in August 2006 from the windowless cell where kidnapper Wolfgang Priklopil had confined her for eight-and-a-half years after abducting her as she walked to school.