A Berlin court sentenced a palliative care physician to life in prison on Wednesday for murdering 15 patients during home visits, finding a particular gravity of guilt and ordering subsequent preventive detention. The doctor administered lethal drug mixtures to 12 women and three men between September 2021 and July 2024, the court found. Victims ranged in age from 25 to 94, and prosecutors said he set fires on multiple occasions to cover his tracks.
The physician had confessed to 12 of the 15 killings shortly before the trial concluded. Prosecutors had sought a lifetime ban from practising medicine alongside the life sentence. Authorities are reportedly investigating 76 additional cases and expect to bring further charges.