A palliative care doctor should work to improve patients' quality of life, not end their lives, as a German doctor is accusing of doing. Prosecutors in Berlin say the 40-year-old man murdered at least 15 patients over three years, apparently for no reason other than he had a "lust" for killing, per CBS News. Identified in press reports as Johannes M., the doctor allegedly delivered an anesthetic and muscle relaxant to 12 women and three men "who were not actively dying" without consent between September 2021 and July 2024, per CNN. The drug cocktail "paralyzed the respiratory muscles, leading to respiratory arrest and death within minutes," the prosecutor's office said, per the BBC.
The doctor's first alleged victim was a 25-year-old woman. The others ranged in age from 56 to 94. Twelve were allegedly killed between January 2024 and July 2024, including two victims who died a few hours apart on July 8. Upon his arrest in August, the doctor was suspected of killing four people in total. But the tally has grown significantly since then, with "more exhumations on potential victims planned," per the BBC. Prosecutors say the doctor tried to cover up his actions by setting fire to patients' home on five occasions. He had no motive beyond killing, prosecutors add, noting his actions meet the legal definition of "lust for murder," per CBS.
He was charged Wednesday with 15 counts of murder but has not entered a plea, per CBS. The outlet points out the similarities between this case and that of Germany's most prolific serial killer, Niels Hoegel, a nurse convicted of murdering 85 patients in his care between 2000 and 2005. A person convicted of murder in Germany faces a maximum sentence of life in prison but is usually eligible for release in 15 years. Prosecutors seek to block that outcome in this case, per Euronews. (More serial killer stories.)
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