A doctor in Berlin has been charged with murder over the deaths of 15 patients under palliative care, prosecutors have said.
The 40-year-old man, who has not been named due to Germany's privacy laws, is also accused of trying to cover up the evidence by starting fires in their homes in a bid to cover up any evidence.
He has been in custody since August 6, but has only just been charged.
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The doctor was part of a nursing service’s end-of-life care team and was initially suspected in the deaths of just four patients.
That number has crept higher since last summer, and investigators now say they have found evidence linking him to the deaths of 15 people between September 22, 2021, and July 24 last year.
The victims’ ages ranged from 25 to 94 and most of them died in their own homes.
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The doctor allegedly administered an anaesthetic and a muscle relaxer to the patients without their knowledge or consent.
The drug cocktail is then said to have paralysed the respiratory muscles. Respiratory arrest and death followed within minutes, prosecutors said.
One of the deaths he's been charged with is that of an 87-year-old woman in Neukölln. Apparently the doctor tried to set her home on fire in June 2024, but paramedics were able to revive her when the arrived to the scene alongside the fire service.
She died a short time later in hospital, NBC reports.
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Weeks later, the same doctor allegedly killed two people in one day: a 75-year-old man and 76-year-old woman.
Reportedly, he tried to set fire the woman's home but failed.
Prosecutors said: "His attempt to set the apartment on fire is said to have failed, as the fire extinguished itself. When he noticed this, he allegedly informed a relative of the woman and claimed that he was standing in front of her apartment and no one was responding to the doorbell."
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Prosecutors said the doctor has not yet responded to the case against him.
The charges were filed to the Berlin state court, which will now have to decide whether to bring the case to trial, and if so, when.
Murder charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. Prosecutors said they aim to ask the court to establish that the suspect bears particularly severe guilt, meaning that he would not be eligible for release after 15 years as is usually the case in Germany.
They also want him to be banned from his profession for life.
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If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact GrieveWell on (734) 975-0238, or email [email protected].
Niamh Shackleton