A Berlin court has sentenced a 41-year-old doctor to life in prison for the murders of 15 patients under his palliative care. The doctor, identified only as Johannes M. due to German privacy laws, was found to have administered lethal doses of medication to 12 women and three men between September 2021 and July 2024.
Prosecutors had sought a sentence of life imprisonment with a finding of particularly severe guilt, which would make the doctor ineligible for early release, and a lifetime ban from practicing medicine. The court's ruling aligned with these requests.
During the trial, which began nearly a year ago, the doctor initially faced suspicion in the deaths of four patients. This number later expanded to 15. He confessed last month to killing a dozen seriously ill patients during home visits, claiming he believed he was acting to spare them further suffering. He also apologized to the victims' families.
According to prosecutors, the doctor allegedly administered an anesthetic and a muscle relaxer without the patients' knowledge or consent. This combination of drugs reportedly caused respiratory arrest and death within minutes. The victims ranged in age from 25 to 94, with most dying in their own homes.
The suspect was taken into custody in August 2024. The investigation initially reviewed 395 cases, leading to preliminary proceedings in 95. Prosecutors are still investigating 76 other cases and anticipate further indictments this year.
In a separate case from 2019, a German nurse received a life sentence for murdering 87 patients by inducing cardiac arrests.