A doctor in Berlin who was first arrested in August on suspicion of killing four elderly patients is now suspected of killing a total of 10 patients and, in five cases, trying to cover up the evidence by starting fires, investigators said Tuesday.
The unidentified doctor, who was part of a nursing service’s palliative care team, was initially suspected of killing four patients in June and July and then attempting, with mixed success, to set fire to their apartments. In November, investigators said they had found evidence that indicated he killed four more patients, and on Tuesday they said they suspect him of killing a further two patients.
Police and prosecutors said Tuesday that the two additional cases surfaced when they examined patients’ files and carried out forensic examinations, including exhumations.
The two latest cases include the alleged killing of a 25-year-old woman in her apartment in Berlin in Sept. 2021, in which the 40-year-old doctor is suspected of giving the woman a lethal mixture of various drugs with the intention of killing her.
In addition, he is suspected of murdering a 57-year-old woman last June, also in her apartment in Berlin, by administered a lethal mixture of medications, investigators said.
Prosecutors and police said in a joint statement that the accused is said to have had no motive beyond killing, and that the suspect’s acts meet the legal definition of “lust for murder.”
According to the latest findings, the killings took place between Sept. 2021 and last summer.
On Tuesday, police also called on former colleagues of the suspect or relatives of care recipients who have not had any contact with law enforcement but who may also have suspicions about the death of patients or relatives, urging them to reach out to the police.
The suspect’s name hasn’t been released, in keeping with German privacy rules. Prosecutors say he hasn’t yet responded to the allegations.
The case recalls that of the notorious German nurse Niels Hoegel, who was sentenced in 2019 to life in prison for murdering 85 patients in his care.
Hoegel, believed to be Germany’s most prolific serial killer, murdered hospital patients with lethal injections between 2000 and 2005, before he was eventually caught in the act.
In a more recent case in Germany, a 27-year-old male nurse was sentenced to life in prison in 2023 for murdering two patients by deliberately administering unprescribed drugs. The nurse, identified as Mario G., was also found guilty on six counts of attempted murder.
In England, neonatal nurse Lucy Letby is serving a life sentence for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others. However, earlier this month, a panel of experts disputed the medical evidence used to convict Letby.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.
