A palliative care doctor in Berlin has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering 15 of his patients between September 2021 and July 2024.
The judge found the 41‑year‑old, named only as Johannes M. pursuant to German privacy rules, guilty of killing 12 women and 3 men among critically ill patients whose deaths were not yet imminent.
Prosecutors add that the doctor administered lethal drug combinations during home visits without consent, and on several occasions, set fires to hide evidence.
In July 2024, before his arrest, the doctor killed two patients on the same day— a 75‑year‑old man in central Berlin and a 76‑year‑old woman in a neighbouring district — and attempted, unsuccessfully, to ignite the woman's house.
During the year‑long trial the doctor spoke only after confessing to killing twelve patients, arguing he believed he was sparing them needless suffering.
He apologized for the pain inflicted and promised to cooperate with further proceedings, as investigators continue to probe 76 additional cases involving his patients.
Authorities warn that if these cases are proven, the case would rank among Germany’s most egregious serial killings.
Following the sentence, the doctor will enter preventive detention and obtain a lifetime ban from practising medicine.
