A doctor with a “lust for murder” is accused of killing at least 15 patients and it is feared that there may be more victims, a court in Germany heard. The medic named only as Johannes M in Berlin, who was part of a palliative care team, was first arrested in August last year on suspicion of killing four elderly patients.
But since then as the investigation continued the number of cases has gradually risen to currently 15. Berlin prosecutors have said that the doctor had a “lust for murder” and his case is due to go before the Berlin Regional Court even as the investigation into more murders continues.
The 40-year-old, who was part of a nursing service’s palliative care team, was initially suspected of killing four patients in June and July, 2024, and then attempting, with mixed success, to set fire to their apartments. In November, investigators said they had found evidence that indicated he killed four more patients, and in February they said they suspect him of killing a further two patients as the cases continued to grow.
He is alleged to have first killed a 25-year-old woman in her apartment in Berlin in September 2021, where he gave her a lethal mixture of various drugs. And over the following three years he carried out similar crimes against at least 15 victims, said the prosecution.
Prosecutors and police said in a joint statement that the accused is said to have had no other motive beyond killing, and that the suspect’s acts meet the legal definition of “lust for murder.” The suspect’s full name hasn’t been released, in keeping with German privacy rules and prosecutors have said he hasn’t yet responded to the allegations.
Police have also called on former colleagues of the suspect or relatives of care recipients who have not had any contact with law enforcement but who may also have suspicions about the death of patients or relatives, to get in touch.
While the doctor was working in a palliative care unit, designed to alleviate the pain of terminally ill patients, none of the suspected victims were “in the acute phase of death” when the crimes were committed, the prosecutor’s office told German media.
He is said to have given an anaesthetic to his victims without them knowing and then injected them with a concoction of drugs, including a muscle relaxant, to kill them.
The doctor, who has worked in several regions of Germany, was first investigated for arson where it is alleged that he caused fires to cover up the killings. And it is reported by Die Welt that police also received a tip off from other members of the nursing team.
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