Home / Crime and Justice / German Doctor Jailed for Life in Patient Killings
German Doctor Jailed for Life in Patient Killings
8 Jul
Summary
- A doctor received a life sentence for murdering 15 patients.
- He is under investigation for an additional 76 cases.
- The judge called him a serial killer, suspecting more victims.
A German palliative care doctor, aged 41, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Berlin Regional Court for the murders of 15 patients. The court found he administered lethal drug mixtures to 12 women and three men between 2021 and 2024. These patients, aged 25 to 94, were seriously ill but not near death, and the judge emphasized their desire to live.
The doctor, in pre-trial detention since August 2024, confessed in June to killing 12 patients during home visits. However, prosecutors are investigating an additional 76 cases, and the presiding judge described him as a "serial killer," suggesting the confessed murders are "just the tip of the iceberg." The investigation was reportedly triggered by fires the doctor allegedly set to conceal his crimes.
He claimed he believed he was sparing patients suffering and infirmity, and apologized to the families. This case could become one of Germany's largest post-war serial killing cases, potentially exceeding the 85 murders committed by former care worker Niels Högel, who was sentenced in 2019.
