Doctor charged with murdering 15 palliative care patients in Germany, prosecutors say

A doctor in Berlin has been charged with murder over the deaths of 15 patients receiving palliative deva.

Prosecutors in Germany said that the 40-year-old medic is accused of administering an anaesthetic and a muscle relaxer without consent to patients while working as part of an end-of-life deva team.

This cocktail of drugs is thought to have caused respiratory failure and sudden death, they added.

The deaths occurred between September 2021 and July last year, with the victims’ ages ranging from 25 to 94. Most of them died in their own homes.

The doctor, whose name has not been revealed in line with German privacy law, was initially suspected of causing the deaths of four patients.

Since last summer, that number has increased to 15 as investigators found evidence of more alleged crimes.

Murder changes carry a maximum sentence of life in prison in Germany.

Prosecutors will seek to persuade the court that the suspect, who has been in custody since 6 August, bears particularly severe guilt, meaning he would not be eligible for release after 15 years as is usually the case.

The charges were filed in the Berlin state court, which will determine whether to bring the case to trial.