He set fires as a cover-up German palliative care doctor allegedly killed 15 seriously ill patients
A German palliative care doctor who was already in custody is said to have killed even more people than initially assumed. Now the public prosecutor's office has filed charges.
16.04.2025, 20:51
SDA
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- A palliative care doctor in Berlin has been charged with the murder of at least 15 patients.
- The 40-year-old is alleged to have deliberately administered lethal drug cocktails to seriously ill but not dying people between 2021 and 2024.
- The investigation began following fires at crime scenes that the doctor is alleged to have set to conceal them.
Following further investigations, the Berlin public prosecutor's office currently assumes that there were at least 15 victims and has filed murder charges, according to a spokesperson for the authority. The "Berliner Zeitung" also reported.
After months of investigation, the public prosecutor's office considers low motives and malice aforethought to be murder. Initially, it had cited "murderous intent" as the background to the crimes.
Bodies were dug up
The accused palliative care doctor has been in custody since August 2024. At that time, the public prosecutor's office had assumed that there were 4 victims. In the course of the investigation, during which bodies were also dug up and examined by forensic doctors, the number of suspected victims rose: first to 8, then to 10 - now the investigators are assuming 15. The number could rise further as the investigation continues.
Nevertheless, the case is now to be brought before the Berlin district court. At the same time, the investigation team set up specifically for the case by the homicide squad at the Berlin State Criminal Police Office (LKA) is evaluating further documents from the doctor's patients. Information from others - such as care services - is also playing a role.
Patients administered "lethal mixture"
The doctor is said to have committed the crimes as part of his work for a care service. Palliative doctors accompany seriously ill people in order to alleviate their pain. According to the public prosecutor's office, the patients concerned were not in an acute dying phase at the time of the crime.
The deaths known so far date back to 2021. According to the public prosecutor's office, in September 2021, the now 40-year-old is said to have administered a lethal mixture of various drugs to a 25-year-old woman "without medical indication" in order to kill her. This is also alleged to have happened in later cases.
Fires in patients trigger investigations
The doctor, who worked in several federal states, was initially targeted by investigators for four cases in the period from June 11 to July 24, 2024, during which time he allegedly killed four people aged between 72 and 94 in their homes in Berlin.
The investigation was triggered by the fires that the doctor is said to have set to cover up the killings. The police investigated arson resulting in death. The doctor increasingly became the focus of attention. According to the public prosecutor's office, tips from the nursing service for which the accused worked contributed to this.
