THE nurse who murdered two patients and brought 15 to the brink of death will spend at least 30 years in jail.

Benjamin Geen, 25, was sentenced on Wednesday for killing two of his patients and almost killing 15 others at the Horton Hospital, Banbury.

The 25-year-old had injected his victims with drugs to worsen their condition, so he could enjoy the thrill of attempting to resuscitate them.

Geen maintained the same emotionless expression he had held during his two-month trial, as Mr Justice Crane delivered 17 life sentences and told him he would not be due for parole for a minimum of 30 years.

Standing behind glass panels at Oxford Crown Court, the Territorial Army officer from Banbury was just metres away from relatives of some of the victims. To his right sat his fiance and fellow nurse Megan Crabbe, her grandfather and Geen's parents Erica and Mick. They had been present for every day of trial.

In passing sentence, Mr Justice Crane told Geen: "This was a terrible betrayal.

"You betrayed your nursing and medical colleagues and the profession of which you had become a member. Most of all you betrayed the trust of the patients. They were in your care and you intentionally caused them huge damage.

"Your purpose was to cause a collapse of the patient in order that you could take part in their revival. It seems that you relished the excitement and the feeling of taking control but you must have known quite well you were playing with their lives.

"A chilling fact is that when you were stopped at the hospital you had in your pocket a well-used syringe, loaded with an anaesthetic drug and I have no doubt that you intended to continue what you were doing."

Mr Justice Crane said that statements from the victims and those close to them showed Geen's actions had left them devastated.

He added: "Not only in learning what happened to them physically, but of learning that one of those trusted to treat them had surreptitiously harmed them. In several cases their lives have never been the same again.

Addressing Geen he said: "Even when you knew that a patient that had been harmed had, in fact, died, that did not stop you."

He said the two psychiatric reports completed on Geen were "not particularly illuminating" but said the offences revealed a "highly abnormal attitude for human life".

Mukhtar Hussain, defending, said Geen continued to deny the crimes, was young and had not been in trouble before.

Geen was given a minimum of 30 years for murdering Anthony Bateman, 65, and David Onley, 75, in January 2004. He was also given life sentences for 15 counts of GBH with intent charges. They run concurrently.

Mr Justice Crane added: "In some cases offences other than murder become unimportant. Not in this case. It was a matter of fortune as to which victims survived and which died."

He praised the work of medical staff and nurses at the Horton Hospital.

He said: "In all but two cases the patients were revived and the dedication of the nurses was impressive and should be noted."

The four leading police officers involved in the case Andy Taylor, Pete Beirne, Graham Cherry and Keith Jones were all awarded commendations for the depth of their investigation.