A DOCTOR with a “lust for murder” has been charged with killing 15 patients in his care, with prosecutors fearing he may have murdered more.
The 40-year-old physician in Berlin, named only as Johannes M. in German media, was initially arrested in August last year on suspicion of killing four people.
Johannes M. (40) has now been charged with 15 counts of murder
AlamyThe 40-year-old physician in Berlin was initially arrested in August last year (stock image)[/caption]
GettyThe doctor with a ‘lust for murder’ has been charged with killing 15 patients in his care[/caption]
But as investigations continued, the number of suspected victims rocketed and now sits at 15.
Berlin prosecutors have said the doctor had a “lust for murder” and have scheduled the case to appear before the Berlin Regional Court, despite investigators continuing to determine the actual extent of his alleged crimes.
Prosecutors are also seeking a lifelong professional ban for the suspect who had been active in several German states.
The suspect has not admitted to the charges, said prosecutors.
After he was initially suspected of being involved in four deaths last year, prosecutors said he attempted to cover up his alleged crimes by setting fire to the victims’ apartments.
However, ongoing investigations have turned up more suspected deaths, dating back to 2021 – and the number could rise even further.
The doctor is accused of administering an anaesthetic followed by a muscle relaxant to palliative patients under his care who weren’t actively dying and without their knowledge or consent, said prosecutors.
In 2021, the doctor is said to have administered a deadly cocktail of drugs to a 25-year-old female patient.
And he is thought to have repeated his acts as many as 15 times within the three years prior to his arrest.
An investigative team set up specifically for the case is evaluating his patient records and more exhumations are planned.
Despite the suspected killer working in a palliative care unit intended to relieve the pain of severely and terminally ill patients, none of the doctor’s alleged victims were in “the acute phase of death” when the crimes were committed, the prosecutor’s office revealed to German media.
German cops only became aware of the doctor’s shocking alleged actions in the summer of 2024, when he allegedly started killing patients in their apartments.
They were then made aware of the killings after the suspect would set fire to the victims’ properties, reports claim.
Detectives were initially investigating the cases as death by arson, but this soon changes after receiving tips from the nursing service which the doctor was a part of.
Officials then set up a specialist investigative team at the Berlin State Criminal Police Office to bring his alleged actions to light.
After several bodies of the doctor’s patients were exhumed and examined by forensic pathologists, it was discovered that some had died of unnatural causes.
Investigators are to continue looking into the doctor’s patient records as the case is heard.
AlamyGerman cops only became aware of the doctor’s shocking alleged actions in the summer of 2024 (stock image)[/caption]