The trial of a palliative care doctor who is suspected of murdering at least 15 people opens in Berlin on Monday.
The Berlin public prosecutor’s office is also investigating whether the 40-year-old could be involved in dozens of other cases.
The suspect, who has not been publicly named in line with German privacy laws, is accused of murdering terminally ill patients while working for a nursing service in the German capital.
Although his alleged victims were all terminally ill, their deaths had not been expected imminently.
According to the 255-page indictment, he is accused of administering “a lethal mixture of various medications,” including an anesthetic and a muscle relaxant, to 12 women and three men “without their knowledge or consent” between September 2021 and July 2024.
His first alleged victim was the youngest, a 25-year-old woman, and the oldest is a 94-year-old woman.
The trial is expected to run until at least January 28, 2026.
The physician first came to the attention of police during arson investigations into fires he allegedly set to cover up the murders.
The married father of one has not yet commented on the allegations, according to both the defense and the prosecution. He has also refused to speak with a psychiatric expert.
The suspect reportedly wrote a doctoral thesis at university in 2013 titled “Why do people kill?”, in which he examined homicides committed in Frankfurt am Main from 1945 to 2008.
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