German doctor faces trial for killing patients and setting their homes on fire

A 40-year-old doctor in Germany has been charged with murdering 15 patients, 12 women and three men, between 2021 and 2024 in Berlin. Prosecutors allege he gave them lethal injections and, in some cases, set their homes on fire to hide the crime.

According to AFP, the deaths of patients were reported between September 2021 and July 2024 while palliative specialist worked in Berlin. 

He allegedly administered a deadly cocktail of sedatives to patients aged between 25 and 94, and in some cases, he set their homes on fire to conceal his crimes. 

Die Zeit, a German newspaper, quoted a co-worker, who noticed last July that so many patients of Johannes M had died in a fire that made him suspicious.  

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Subsequently, he was arrested in August, with prosecution initially linking him to only four deaths; however, the investigation held him accountable for other cases. In April prosecutor charged Johannes M with 15 murders.

Further 96 cases are still being investigated, including the death of Johannes M's mother-in-law, AFP reported.

It added that Johannes M.’s mother-in-law had been suffering from cancer, suddenly died over the same weekend when Johannes and his wife went to visit Poland in early 2024.

The suspect has been dubbed “doctor death” by local media, trained as a radiologist and a general practitioner before specialising in palliative care. 

The German newspaper reported that he submitted his doctoral thesis in 2013, with the title: “Why do people kill?”, learning about the motives behind a series of killings in Frankfurt.