A Berlin doctor has been accused of a chilling series of crimes involving the deaths of elderly patients under his care. The 40-year-old, whose name hasn’t been made public, is now at the center of an investigation that has shocked Germany. Prosecutors believe he not only killed eight elderly people but also set fires to cover up his actions.
The suspect worked in palliative care, visiting patients at home through a nursing service. Initially, in August, authorities linked him to the deaths of four women aged 72 to 94. Now, investigators suspect him in four additional deaths involving men and women aged 61 to 83.
What makes this case even more disturbing is that prosecutors say the killings weren’t for money or revenge—they allege he was driven by a twisted desire to kill, describing it as a “lust for murder.” The charges have escalated from manslaughter to murder.
Authorities believe his first victims were four women he cared for between June 11 and July 24. In one tragic case, an 87-year-old woman collapsed and was briefly revived by emergency responders but passed away later in the hospital. The doctor also allegedly started fires in some of these cases. In one instance, the flames died out before causing major damage, but he still alerted the victim’s family, pretending to be concerned when no one answered the door.
The investigation has now expanded to include four other deaths from June 2022 to April 2024. One of these involved a 70-year-old woman in Berlin’s Tempelhof district. Prosecutors say he gave her a deadly mix of medications and then set her apartment on fire. Luckily, firefighters stopped the fire from spreading. In other cases, two men, aged 70 and 83, and a 61-year-old woman were allegedly given fatal doses of medication.
This horrifying case has drawn comparisons to other infamous killers in the medical field. One such figure is Niels Högel, a German nurse who was convicted in 2019 of murdering 85 patients with lethal injections over five years. Another recent case involved Mario G., a Munich nurse sentenced in 2023 for killing two patients and attempting to harm six others by injecting unprescribed drugs.
These cases highlight the dangers of individuals abusing their positions of trust in healthcare. The Berlin doctor’s alleged actions are also eerily similar to a recent British case where a doctor posed as a nurse and tried to poison someone, and to Lucy Letby, a nurse in England who was sentenced to life for murdering seven babies.
The investigation in Berlin is ongoing, and prosecutors are determined to uncover the full extent of the crimes. For now, the community remains in shock, grappling with how someone entrusted to care for the vulnerable could allegedly commit such terrible acts.
