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A 40-year-old German doctor went on trial in Berlin on Monday accused of murdering 15 palliative care patients under his supervision.
Prosecutors allege the physician, identified only as Johannes M in accordance with German privacy laws, acted with “premeditated malice and other base motives.”
The accused, formerly employed by a private end-of-life care service, is said to have administered a fatal combination of anaesthetic and muscle relaxant to patients between September 2021 and July 2024, without their knowledge or consent.
Most of the victims, aged between 25 and 94, died in their homes. Prosecutors claim the drugs paralysed respiratory muscles, leading to suffocation and death within minutes.
The case is particularly grave, with the prosecution pushing for a “particularly serious” conviction, which would rule out parole after the usual 15-year term under German law. They are also seeking a lifetime medical ban and preventive detention.
The indictment further alleges that the doctor tried to destroy evidence by setting fires in some of the victims’ homes. He has been in custody since 6 August 2024.
The patients listed in the indictment were all seriously ill, though their deaths were not considered to be imminent.
So far, the defendant has declined to speak with a psychiatric expert and his lawyer has confirmed he will not address the court for now. The expert is tasked with observing the defendant’s conduct and witness testimony in lieu of a formal interview.
Among the most troubling incidents presented in court was that of a 56-year-old woman in September.
Prosecutors allege the doctor administered the lethal drugs without medical necessity, then called emergency services and falsely claimed she had been found unresponsive.
Though resuscitated and taken to hospital, she later died after the family agreed to withdraw life support.
A sweeping investigation remains ongoing. Authorities have examined nearly 400 deaths connected to the doctor’s past cases. So far, 95 have triggered preliminary investigations and 75 remain open. Five exhumations are planned as part of this extended probe.
The doctor’s own mother-in-law, who died during a visit while battling cancer, is among those still under review.
Thirteen relatives of the deceased have joined the case as co-plaintiffs, and the court has scheduled 35 hearing days stretching into January 2026. As many as 150 witnesses could be called.
The case echoes that of a German nurse convicted in 2019 of murdering 87 patients. In another separate case this month, prosecutors in Itzehoe, northern Germany, opened an inquiry into a different doctor suspected of multiple patient deaths.
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