Frans Hooijmaijers was born on October 24, 1935, in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Bullied at school due to his cleft lip and weight, he was often socially isolated. He dreamed of becoming a stage actor, but his father’s abuse quashed that hope. As Frans grew older, he took on the caretaker role for his seriously ill father and later became the head of the household after his father’s death. He remained deeply attached to his mother, gifting her frequently. In 1970, he took a position as a nurse at the Lückerheide Clinic’s “Nightingale Ward,” a section reserved for elderly, mentally or physically ill patients. Frans was active and respected in the hospital’s internal culture, serving in various roles including exam commissioner and personnel association chair. Widely regarded as fastidious and pious, he also displayed a strange belief: he claimed a supernatural ability to predict the time of death for patients—earning him the nickname “The Good Samaritan.”

Between 1970 and the summer of 1975, approximately 325 patients died on the Nightingale Ward, a staggering figure compared to the 78 deaths in other wards under the same conditions. Hooijmaijers administered lethal injections of insulin or Valium to at least five confirmed victims—patients in a coma-like state, with disrupted heart and brain activity, often mimicking natural deaths. The case came to light when staff and family members noticed unusual patterns, and particularly after concerns about an elderly ward patient named Mrs. Braams. On August 14, 1975, Dutch police arrested Hooijmaijers and his wife at their Kerkrade home. Officers discovered treasured items from deceased patients, including jewelry, hidden in their home. Hooijmaijers confessed to 15 killings, claiming he “relieved” suffering, though he later withdrew this confession during legal proceedings and insisted he only administered non-lethal doses in emergencies without doctor approval.

Despite his attempts to minimize responsibility, psychiatric evaluations—along with the extraordinary death rates under his care—led to his conviction. In December 1976, Hooijmaijers was found guilty of five murders and given two life sentences, alongside an 18-year ban from nursing. The trial was reportedly the most costly in Dutch history at that time. However, following an appeal in 1977, his life sentences were reduced, and he ultimately served 18 years of imprisonment.

Frans Hooijmaijers was released in early 1987 and lived quietly until his natural death on August 20, 2006.