Terminal care turns deadly: Doctor faces 15 murder charges

The Berlin Public Prosecutor’s Office has on Wednesday April 16, 2025, charged a 40-year-old doctor with murdering 15 patients under palliative care.

They also accused him of attempting to destroy evidence by setting fires at the victims’ homes.

According to reports, the doctor, whose identity is hidden, is part of an end-of-life care team, allegedly killed the patients between 2021 and mid-2023.

Investigators linked him to deaths that occurred from September 22, 2021, to July 24, 2023.

Initially, police suspected him in four cases, but the number rose during further investigations.

The victims were between 25 and 94 years old, and most died inside their homes.

Prosecutors claimed he injected a combination of anesthetic and muscle relaxer into the patients.

The drugs allegedly caused respiratory paralysis, quickly followed by death.

Authorities said the patients never consented to the lethal drug cocktail.

The doctor reportedly used these drugs without informing or warning the victims.

He has been in custody since August 6 but hasn’t commented on the accusations.

Under German law, his name remains undisclosed due to strict privacy regulations.

Prosecutors filed the charges at the Berlin state court on Wednesday.

The court must now determine if the case will proceed to full trial.

If convicted, the doctor faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Prosecutors also want the court to declare the doctor’s guilt as especially severe.

This declaration would prevent his release after the usual 15 years served in Germany.

They also intend to pursue a lifelong ban from practicing medicine.

The accused was a member of a nursing service that offered end-of-life care.

Investigators say he violated medical ethics and abused patients’ trust.

Authorities believe he deliberately ended lives rather than providing comfort care.

Police continue reviewing other deaths linked to the same care service.

Families of victims have demanded justice and stronger oversight of palliative care.

The case has shocked Germany’s medical community and raised public safety concerns.

Officials have promised stricter scrutiny of end-of-life care providers moving forward.

The Berlin state court will soon decide the trial’s schedule and venue.

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