(CNN) A German serial killer nurse was jailed for life on Thursday for the murder of 85 patients in his care, according to a statement from a court in the northwest city of Oldenburg.

Niels Hoegel, a 42-year-old former nurse who is considered Germany's deadliest post-war serial killer, was sentenced to life in prison at the District Court of Oldenburg.

While summing up the trial, the judge said Hoegel's actions were "incomprehensible: That's the word that characterizes this."

The health worker had previously confessed to killing 100 patients -- aged between 34 and 96 years old -- at two hospitals in northern Germany between 2000 and 2005. However Hoegel was acquitted of 15 cases on Thursday because there was not enough evidence.

Hoegel was accused of giving his victims various non-prescribed drugs, in an attempt to show off his resuscitation skills to colleagues and fight off boredom.

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