German palliative care doctor sentenced to life in prison after killing 15 patients.
Johannes M., 41, was found guilty by a court in Berlin of murdering 12 women and three men between September 2021 and July 2024.
Authorities believe that the killings are only the tip of the iceberg, and prosecutors are investigating 76 other suspected cases involving the doctor.
All victims were critically ill, yet not in imminent danger of death. The court heard that the doctor administered lethal doses of medication during home visits without consent, and on several occasions set fires to conceal the act.
In July 2024, shortly before his arrest, the doctor killed a 75‑year‑old man in a central Berlin flat and a 76‑year‑old woman in a neighbouring district, attempting and failing to set fire to the woman’s house.
The doctor remained silent for much of the year‑long trial, but last month he confessed to having killed twelve severely ill patients, claiming he believed he was doing a mercy act.
He apologized to the families of those he killed, acknowledging the suffering caused. The court has ordered him into preventive detention and banned him permanently from practising medicine.
