On Wednesday, a Berlin court sentenced a 41‑year‑old German palliative care doctor, Johannes M., to life imprisonment for murdering 15 patients. The court found him guilty of killing 12 women and three men between September 2021 and July 2024.
The victims, aged 25 to 94, were all critically ill, but prosecutors say they did not face imminent death when the doctor killed them. He is alleged to have administered lethal doses of medication without the patients’ consent and, on several occasions, set fires to cover up the evidence.
In July 2024, shortly before the doctor was arrested, authorities allege he killed a 75‑year‑old man at his Berlin home and a 76‑year‑old woman in a neighbouring district, attempting to ignite the latter’s house unsuccessfully.
For much of the trial, the doctor remained silent, but last month he confessed to deliberately murdering 12 of his severely ill patients, claiming he was acting to spare them suffering and infirmity. He apologized for the pain caused.
Prosecutors now investigate an additional 76 cases, suggesting the doctor could be responsible for a larger number of murders. If these allegations are proven, the case would rank among Germany’s most serious serial‑murder incidents.
The court also imposed a permanent ban on the doctor’s medical practice and placed him in preventive detention after sentencing. Family members of the victims expressed disbelief and sorrow at the revelations.
