A German palliative care doctor is facing serious charges after being accused of murdering 15 patients using a deadly combination of drugs. The suspect, a 40-year-old man whose identity remains protected under German privacy laws, allegedly committed these heinous acts between September 2021 and July 2024, with the possibility that the number of victims could increase as investigations continue.
The prosecution in Berlin has detailed a pattern of criminal behavior, claiming the doctor administered an anaesthetic and a muscle relaxant without his patients' knowledge or consent. According to the authorities, the muscle relaxant paralyzed the patients' respiratory muscles, hastening their deaths within minutes. Victims included 12 women and three men, ranging in age from 25 to 94 years old.
In a particularly alarming twist, the doctor is alleged to have attempted to cover his tracks by setting fire to the apartments of his suspected victims on five different occasions. On one day in July 2024, he reportedly killed two patients — a 75-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman — within hours of each other. In an effort to disguise his actions, he even attempted to ignite the woman's house; however, the fire did not successfully ignite, leading him to contact a relative under false pretenses to explain his presence at the scene.
Initially arrested in August 2024 for the suspected murders of four individuals, further investigations have opened the door to a larger number of suspicious deaths linked to the doctor's practice. Authorities are planning more exhumations as they search for additional evidence in this chilling case.
As legal proceedings begin, the prosecutor's office is advocating for a "lifelong professional ban" along with "preventative detention" for the accused, who is currently being held in custody as the case unfolds.
