German Doctor death faces 15 murder charges
German Doctor Faces Trial for Murdering 15 Patients
Berlin authorities have charged a 40‑year‑old palliative care specialist, identified in German media as Johannes M., with the intentional deaths of 15 patients between September 2021 and July 2024.
Suspected Methods and Investigation
- A co‑worker raised suspicions in July after noticing a pattern of fatal fires among his patients.
- Johannes M. was arrested in August, with prosecutors initially linking him to four deaths.
- Further investigations uncovered a host of other suspicious cases, leading prosecutors in April to charge him with 15 counts of murder.
- Sixty‑nine additional cases remain under examination, including the mysterious death of his mother‑in‑law after the family visited her in Poland in early 2024.
Professional Background and Alleged Techniques
Dubbed “doctor death,” Johannes M. trained as a radiologist and general practitioner before specializing in palliative care. In 2013, he submitted a doctoral thesis exploring the motives behind a series of killings in Frankfurt, opening with the question, “Why do people kill?”
Prosecutors assert that in all 15 cases, Johannes M. administered an anesthetic and a muscle relaxant without patient knowledge or consent. The relaxant paralyzed the respiratory muscles, leading to respiratory arrest and death within minutes.
In five instances, he allegedly set fire to the victims’ apartments after administering the injections.
Notable Cases and Claims of Fabrication
- On July 8, 2024, he allegedly killed a 75‑year‑old man at his Kreuzberg home, followed by the death of a 76‑year‑old woman in Neukoelln within hours. Prosecutors claim he started a fire in the woman’s apartment, which was extinguished, and then falsely informed a relative of his presence outside the flat.
- In another case, he falsely claimed to have begun resuscitation efforts on a 56‑year‑old victim, who survived initial emergency care but died three days later in hospital.
No Motive Beyond Killing
Johannes M. has not commented on the accusations. Prosecutors state he had no motive beyond killing and seek a life sentence.
Historical Context and Recent Comparisons
The case recalls the notorious German nurse Niels Hoegel, convicted in 2019 of murdering 85 patients through lethal injections between 2000 and 2005, earning a life sentence. More recently, a 27‑year‑old nurse received a life sentence in 2023 for murdering two patients by administering unprescribed drugs. In March, another nurse faced trial in Aachen accused of injecting 26 patients with large doses of sedatives or painkillers, resulting in nine deaths.
Last week, German police announced they are investigating another doctor suspected of killing several mainly elderly patients in Pinneberg, just outside Hamburg.
