At fifteen, she expressed a desire to become a nun and entered the Apostolic Congregation of Holy Joseph nearby Wetteren in Flanders.
Although the operation was outwardly a success, her colleagues noticed that strange behaviour had started shortly after she had recovered from her surgery.
[2] As well as these alleged homicides, she was also accused of stealing a large sum of money from her victims, as well as suspected repeated acts of torture, ripping catheters from patients and other abusive behaviour.
Time magazine reported that Bombeek was finally apprehended through the efforts of fellow nuns who worked within the 38-bed geriatric ward and who recorded a string of mysterious deaths and other irregularities.
More seriously than this, the three nuns disclosed that Bombeek had murdered Maria van der Gunst (87), an elderly woman who suffered from diabetes and was killed through an insulin overdose which induced a severe hypoglycemia attack.
Once she had killed Mrs Van Der Gunst, Bombeek had used her money and jewelry to finance her expensive expeditions to Ghent.
The publicity for the film described "A demented nun sliding through morphine addiction into madness, whilst presiding over a regime of lesbianism, torture and death.