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German doctor who ‘killed his patients, set their homes on fire' goes on trial for 15 murders
The Regional Courtroom in Berlin, Germany, on Monday. Source: AFP
A 40-year-old doctor, identified only as Johannes M. due to German privacy laws, went on trial in Berlin on Monday (July 14) for the murder of 15 palliative care patients.
The prosecutor's office charged him with 15 counts of premeditated murder driven by 'base motives,' seeking a life sentence, a permanent ban from practising medicine, and preventive detention.
If found guilty of 'particularly severe guilt,' he would not be eligible for release after 15 years, as is typical in Germany.
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Allegations against doctor
The doctor, part of a nursing service's end-of-life care team, is accused of killing patients aged 25 to 94 between September 2021 and July 2024 by administering a lethal mix of anaesthetic and muscle relaxant without their consent.
This drug cocktail allegedly caused respiratory failure and death within minutes.
Most victims died in their homes. Prosecutors also allege he attempted to cover up the murders by setting fires at the victims' residences.
He has been in custody since August 6.
One case involves a 56-year-old woman who died in September 2021. The doctor allegedly gave her the lethal drugs without medical necessity, then made a false emergency call claiming she needed resuscitation. Although rescue workers revived her and took her to a hospital, the doctor reportedly contacted one of her daughters, apologising for violating the woman's living will against life-prolonging measures.
With the daughters' consent, artificial respiration was stopped, and she died on September 8.
Motive
The motive remains unclear, as the seriously ill victims were not facing imminent death.
Johannes M. refused a pre-trial psychiatric interview, so an expert will assess his behaviour in court.
His lawyer, Christoph Stoll, said he will not yet make a statement.
The trial, with 35 scheduled dates until January 2026, includes 13 relatives as co-plaintiffs and up to 150 witnesses.
Parallel investigations into dozens of other suspected deaths continue, with 395 cases reviewed by a special homicide team.
Initial suspicion was confirmed in 95 cases, with 75 still under investigation, including the death of the doctor's cancer-stricken mother-in-law.
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Five exhumations are planned. This case echoes a 2019 conviction of a German nurse sentenced to life for murdering 87 patients.
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