Berlin doctor charged with the killings of 15 patients under palliative care

BERLIN — BERLIN (AP) — A doctor in Berlin has been charged with murder over the deaths of 15 patients under palliative care, prosecutors said Wednesday. He is also accused of trying to cover up the evidence by starting fires in their homes.

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’ve 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. Most died in their own homes.

He allegedly administered an anesthetic and a muscle relaxer to the patients without their knowledge or consent. The drug cocktail then allegedly paralyzed the respiratory muscles. Respiratory arrest and death followed within minutes, prosecutors said.

The doctor — a 40-year-old man whose name hasn’t been released, in line with German privacy rules — has been in custody since Aug. 6. Prosecutors said Wednesday that he 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 wouldn’t 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.