A pensioner who didn’t like the sound of a patient’s ventilator and reportedly switched it off twice ‘meant no harm’, her son has said.
Hatun C. is said to have switched off a 79-year-old woman's ventilator twice because she was annoyed by the sound it made.
A joint statement from the police and Mannheim public prosecutor's office said that the woman was 'strongly suspected' of switching off the ventilator.
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The accused 73-year-old woman is said to be a patient on the Covid ward of Mannheim's Diako Hospital.
She reportedly turned off the oxygen machine of Hilal K., who had to be revived by medics.
Hilal K. later died from oxygen starvation complications.
The incident occurred on November 30 and Hatun C. has since been jailed on suspicion of manslaughter.
Her son Aydin C., 41 has recently come to her defence and told German media that the 'bed neighbour made such a loud noise'.
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"My mother couldn't close her eyes there because the oxygen device of her bed neighbour made such a loud noise, like a tractor," he said.
"She was exhausted and high on medication. But she didn't want to harm the woman. It was an act of desperation.
"My mother worked as a toilet attendant for over 30 years, raised five children, and was never at fault.
"Now she is in prison as an old, frail woman with a serious heart condition.
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"I'm afraid she'll die there.
"She had no idea what she was doing."
He added: "My mother can neither read nor write, she only understands Turkish, how should she have understood this announcement by the German nurse?
"In addition, she has no idea about machines. Otherwise, she would never have done something like this.
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"My mother should have been moved to another room, and at the very least, we should have been informed immediately, then it would never have come to this."
Aydin also apologised for his mother's actions and said: "I would like to apologise for all the suffering my mother brought to the 79-year-old's family.
"My mother herself was a victim of these intolerable circumstances in the clinic.
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"She deeply regrets everything and asks for forgiveness."
The 48-year-old daughter of the deceased, Sadet O., said: "That woman probably killed my mother. I can't forgive her for that."
Investigations into the matter to determine exactly what happened and what crimes the pensioner might have committed are ongoing.
If found guilty of attempted manslaughter the 72-year-old could spend several years behind bars.
LADbible have contacted Mannheim police for comment.
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