MHH doctor in Hanover acquitted of murder charges
A doctor at Hanover Medical School was acquitted by the regional court. Criminal conduct could not be established in three deaths.
Acquittal for Hanover intensive-care physician following three deaths
Criminal conduct could not be established "in any way" — with these words, the presiding judge at Hanover Regional Court justified on Friday the acquittal of a 49-year-old doctor at Hanover Medical School (MHH). As reported by ndr.de, the defendant reacted to the verdict with tears. His lawyer spoke of a long "ordeal".
Both the public prosecutor and the defence had previously requested an acquittal. The trial centred on three deaths in total. The doctor had spent more than 190 days in pre-trial detention.
Three cases, no evidence of intent to kill
The indictment included murder and attempted murder. In May 2019, the doctor was called out as an emergency physician to an 82-year-old patient; he was accused of attempting to kill her with medication. In the other two cases, these involved intensive-care patients: a 20-year-old died in June 2020 and a 71-year-old in March 2025.
In her judgment, the judge explained that the dementia patient had died from her underlying condition. In the cases of the other two patients, it could no longer be established whether death had occurred through switching off life-support machines or through the administration of pain and anaesthetic medication. The doctor had acted "palliatively and symptomatically" and merely relieved pain.
Turning point: Defendant's testimony
A turning point in the proceedings had already emerged in late July; shortly after the trial began, the doctor was released from pre-trial detention. The public prosecutor described the defendant's testimony in her closing arguments as a "turning point in the proceedings". In the witness stand, the doctor refuted all allegations with tears. The murder charge was "utterly monstrous" and "defies my comprehension", he said. He emphasised that it was his duty to enable severely ill patients to die without breathlessness and pain.
Defence: No violation in palliative sedation
Defence lawyer Jürgen Hoppe had highlighted during the proceedings that patients had the right to die painlessly, and raised the question of whether hopeless treatment must necessarily be continued. According to experts, there are no upper limits in palliative sedation. In all three cases, "nothing went wrong", said Hoppe.
The representative of the ancillary prosecution joined in the request for acquittal but contended that the parents of the 20-year-old patient had not been sufficiently informed of his critical health condition.
Court: No substantial suspicion of an offence
The court determined that there was no longer substantial suspicion of an offence. The defendant had been described as a "conscientious, experienced and empathetic doctor"; an intent to kill could not be established.
Source: Google News LU DE