The Nurse is a gripping new drama series on Netflix that focuses on Christina Aistrup Hansen, a healthcare professional who worked at Nykøbing Falster Hospital. At first, she seemed like the perfect employee, but a chilling discovery was soon made.
The four-part series is based on the true crime book The Nurse: The True Story Behind One of Scandinavia's Most Notorious Criminal Trials and tells the story largely from the point of view of new staff member, Pernille Kurzmann, who helped report her to the police.
At first, Pernille is charmed by Christina who comes across as a friendly, dedicated, and hardworking nurse, but she soon grows suspicious of her new colleague which forces her to pry into what's really going on behind closed doors.
With The Nurse reaching the Netflix Top 10, you might be wondering about the real-life case which inspired the series.
Here's everything you need to know about the case of Christina Aistrup Hansen.
What happened at Nykøbing Falster Hospital?
Christina Aistrup Hansen was a well-respected nurse at Nykøbing Falster Hospital, and the place itself was known for its good rapport between staff. There was a lot of trust and respect, so nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
But new recruit Pernille Kurzmann soon became suspicious when there were repeated occurrences of drama happening on the night shifts whenever Christina was on duty, noticing a very disturbing pattern.
Patients were dying despite having no history which matched the cause of death, and it soon emerged that other co-workers had their suspicions, with some even saying they'd been suspicious of Christina for years.
It was revealed that she had been administering patients with lethal doses of diazepam and morphine, only to save them after their condition suddenly nose-dived. It is believed she was doing this to make things more "interesting".
Her behavior resulted in the deaths of three patients: Viggo Holm Petersen, Anna Lise Poulsen, and Arne Herskov. She also very nearly took the life of Maggi Margrethe Rasmussen, but she survived the ordeal.
Speaking to Netflix about adapting the story, director Kasper Barfoed said: "What really most of all interested me was, how could this take place over such a long time — when, after the whole thing was revealed, a lot of people seemed to have known about it or suspected it.'
"That became the key we always went back to. It’s not about just a 'crazy' killer — it’s about, 'How does the system prevent us from speaking up or how does the system protect itself?'"
Was Christina Aistrup Hansen convicted?
Christina's case was taken to city court and lasted nearly a month, with over 70 witnesses coming forward to testify against the nurse. She was sentenced to life imprisonment for the deaths of the three patients, but this sentence was changed after an appeal.
The court found that they couldn't rule out the possibility that other factors had led to the patients' deaths, so she was instead convicted of four counts of attempted murder. Following this, Christina received a 12-year prison sentence in 2017 and was stripped of her license to practice medicine.
Additionally, a forensic psychological evaluation found that Hansen suffered from something called histrionic personality disorder, which is largely characterized by attention-seeking behaviors.
These can include feeling that you have to entertain people, wanting to be the center of attention, making rash decisions, or behaving in a provocative manner.
Christina is expected to be released from prison in 2028 although we do not have official confirmation of this.
Where is Pernille Kurzmann now?
Not much is known about Pernille Kurzmann, as she has continued to live a private life since giving her testimony at Hansen's trial. However, she does still work at the Nykøbing Falster Hospital.
During the end scene of The Nurse, a title card reads: "All nurses from the ER at that time have moved on to different jobs. Except one. Pernille Kurzmann still works as a nurse at Nykøbing Falster Hospital. Today her name is Pernille Kurzmann Lundén."
So, we know Pernille continues to work there but the rest of her life is not public knowledge.
