Nurse murdered 'to satisfy lust'

Nurse Benjamin Geen denies two counts of murder

A nurse accused of murder denied he used his patients to "satisfy his lust for excitement", a court has heard.

Benjamin Geen, 25, is on trial for murder and causing grievous bodily harm by administering substances to 18 patients to make them stop breathing.

Mr Geen, of Banbury, denies two charges of murder and 18 counts of GBH.

He told Oxford Crown Court that the unusually high number of respiratory arrests on his shifts were coincidence, down to him being "jinxed".

In cross-examination prosecutor Michael Austin-Smith, QC, referred to the case of 77-year-old David Nelson, who was admitted to the hospital with heart trouble but suddenly stopped breathing after apparently being injected by Mr Geen.

Instead of administering amiodarone, a cardiac drug, Mr Geen is said to have given Mr Nelson midazolam, a sedative which suppresses breathing.

Mr Geen agreed he had tended to Mr Nelson alone, behind a curtain, immediately prior to the collapse.

I just panicked. I realised I should not have that syringe on me Benjamin Geen

Mr Austin-Smith said: "You had an opportunity at that point, if you had been so minded, to introduce midazolam."

Mr Geen replied: "If I had been so minded, yes."

The prosecutor said: "There would have been an opportunity for someone maliciously-inclined to switch syringes wouldn't there?"

Mr Geen said: "I deny switching drugs or giving any other drug than that which had been prescribed."

Mr Austin-Smith said: "The patients were just bits of flesh as far as you were concerned that gave you an opportunity to practice your skills and satisfy your lust for excitement."

The court heard how when Mr Geen was arrested, a loaded syringe was found in his pocket.

Full syringe

He told the jury he had discharged the syringe full of a powerful muscle relaxant in his pocket shortly before being searched by police.

The drug, vecuronium, was found on his fleece afterwards.

"I just panicked. I realised I should not have that syringe on me. I squirted the contents of the syringe into my pocket," he said.

Mr Geen denies murdering David Onley, 77, of Deddington, and Anthony Bateman, 67, of Banbury.

He also denies 18 counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent on 18 patients, including the two dead men.

The offences were allegedly committed between December 2003 and February 2004.

The trial continues.