In an exceptional case: A 60-year-old employee at a nursing home was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Randers Magistrates' Court issued a verdict Wednesday afternoon in a unique case, sentencing an employee at the Plejecenter Tirsdalen nursing home in Randers to 16 years in prison on charges related to attempted murder and violence at the nursing home. The defendant and her lawyer have appealed the verdict. The defendant has insisted since the beginning of the case that she is innocent of the charges against her, according to what was published on the TV2 website.

Beginning of the case

The story began when four residents of the center in Randers were poisoned by medication they should not have received. All four were hospitalized in critical condition, and an 81-year-old woman subsequently died. Now, a court in Randers has determined that Susan Heine Christensen, 60, an employee of sosu-hjælper, administered the medication to the four elderly residents, endangering their lives.

But some relatives of other residents at the nursing home suspect that Susan, who worked at the center from 2017 until spring 2022 when she was arrested, may have previously exposed other residents to the same thing, which cannot be identified or known.

A serious and unusual case

Susan Heine Christensen was charged with one murder and seven attempted murders against four residents of the Randers nursing home. The prosecutor explained that the police had prepared “a very large and extensive investigation,” and on this basis he assessed what could be proven and prosecuted. However, according to the court’s assessment, “as an assistant at sosu, she did not have sufficient knowledge of the drugs to anticipate that the residents might die from the drug she gave them. But when she gave the drug to the three surviving residents again, she must have realized that it was life-threatening.”.

Accordingly, the court convicted her on four counts of attempted murder, in addition to four counts of serious violence, one of which resulted in death, and thus she was acquitted of the charge of premeditated murder.

Public Prosecutor's Opinion

According to the prosecutor, this is an extremely serious and exceptional case: “We are talking about a healthcare worker, and the court has now also concluded that she gave several victims pills that they should not have taken. It is insanely serious and should not be at all.”.

The prosecutor in court demanded that the accused be sentenced to life imprisonment, explaining that 16 years in his opinion is the minimum penalty, but criminal law does not allow a longer penalty except for life imprisonment, which is the most severe penalty in the law, and after all, he is satisfied with the verdict.

Defense opinion

On the other hand, the accused's lawyer, Henrik Garlic, believes that 16 years is a "harsh punishment," and has consistently demanded that his client be acquitted of the most serious charge, which is premeditated murder. However, he also acknowledges that it is a very exceptional case: "A woman with no criminal past, living a completely normal life with her husband, children, and grandchildren, is now convicted of attempting to murder several residents, including people she has cared for for many years and, in my opinion, loved very much. So, it is an unusual case.".