Berlin doctor jailed for life after murdering 15 palliative care patients
A German doctor has been sentenced to life in prison for killing 15 patients in his care between 2021 and 2024. The Berlin court also found him guilty of arson to conceal the crimes.
Berlin doctor convicted of killing 15 patients with lethal drug mixture
A Berlin court has sentenced a German doctor to life in prison for the murder of 15 palliative care patients, abcnews.com reports. The court handed down the verdict on Wednesday, finding that Johannes M., 41, administered a lethal combination of medications to 12 women and three men between September 2021 and July 2024.
The case also involved allegations that the doctor set fire to the homes of some victims in an attempt to destroy evidence. The court's ruling aligned with prosecutors' request for a finding of particularly serious guilt — a designation that would bar him from early release.
Johannes M., identified only by his first name and initial under Germany's privacy rules, was part of an end-of-life care team at a nursing service in Berlin. He was initially investigated in connection with the deaths of four patients before prosecutors extended the charges to 15.
According to German news agency dpa, the doctor injected patients with an anaesthetic and a muscle relaxant without their knowledge or consent. The drug cocktail paralysed the respiratory muscles, causing respiratory arrest and death within minutes. The victims ranged in age from 25 to 94, and most died in their own homes.
After months of silence during the trial, which began last July and ran through the end of January, Johannes M. confessed last month to killing a dozen seriously ill patients during home visits. He told the court he had convinced himself he was acting out of compassion, sparing patients from suffering. At the close of proceedings he again apologised to the bereaved families.
The court also granted prosecutors' request for a lifetime ban on the doctor practising medicine.
A special police and prosecution investigation team initially examined 395 cases connected to the doctor. In 95 of those, preliminary proceedings were opened after initial suspicions were confirmed. In five cases the suspicion was not substantiated. The public prosecutor's office said it is still investigating 76 further cases and expects to file another indictment later this year.
Johannes M. was taken into custody in August 2024. Murder in Germany carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The case draws comparisons to a 2019 conviction in Germany, in which a nurse received a life sentence for deliberately inducing cardiac arrests in 87 patients.
Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)