Daniela Poggiali, 42, was jailed on October 9th on suspicion of poisoning patients at the Umberto I Hospital in Lugo, northern Italy.

But despite the gravity of her alleged crimes, the nurse has been receiving fan mail at the prison in Forli.

A number of letters have arrived from admirers wanting to get to know Poggiali, with some including stamped envelopes with the hope of receiving a response, La Repubblica reported.

The flood of fan mail has seen her dubbed a “VIP” by Italian news site Tgcom24.

Poggiali’s arrest earlier this month came after an autopsy on a 78-year-old woman who died in the nurse’s care revealed dangerous levels of potassium in her system.

A subsequent investigation revealed that the nurse was on duty when 38 of 86 patients during a three month period died, while the average number of deaths when her colleagues were on duty was ten.

Police say she was the only one who could have injected the elderly woman and are verifying whether others who died were killed in the same manner.

Poggiali, who has denied murder and says she is being framed, allegedly asked colleagues to photograph her alongside patients who had just died.

She is also reported to have given laxatives to patients just before the end of her shift in a spiteful bid to upset the nurses taking over on the ward.