German Doctor on Trial for Allegedly Murdering 15 Palliative Care Patients in Berlin

From left, defendant lawyers Klaudia Dawidowic, Ria Halbritter and Christoph Stoll, presiding judge Sylvia Busch, center, and public prosecutor Philipp Meyhöfer, second right, as a doctor has gone on trial over the alleged murder of 15 patients under palliative care, at Berlin Regional Court, Germany, Monday July 14, 2025

A German physician accused of murdering 15 patients under his care appeared in a Berlin court on Monday, facing one of the country’s most serious serial medical homicide cases in recent years. The 40-year-old doctor, identified only as Johannes M. under German privacy laws, was charged with 15 counts of murder with malice aforethought and other base motives.

The Berlin prosecutor’s office is seeking a conviction that includes a declaration of particularly serious guilt, which would make the doctor ineligible for parole after the standard 15-year minimum. Prosecutors are also requesting a lifetime ban on medical practice and preventive detention after the sentence.

Johannes M., a member of a private end-of-life care team in Berlin, was originally under investigation for four suspicious deaths. However, ongoing investigations have now linked him to 15 fatalities between September 22, 2021, and July 24, 2023. The victims ranged in age from 25 to 94, most of whom died in their own homes while receiving palliative care.

According to the charges, the doctor administered an unauthorized combination of an anesthetic and a muscle relaxant, leading to paralysis of the respiratory muscles and rapid death. Prosecutors say none of the patients had given consent for the drugs and that their conditions, while serious, were not imminently terminal.

(L-R) The defendant's lawyers Klaudia Dawidowic, Ria Halbritter and Christoph Stoll, stand at the murder trial against a palliative care doctor who allegedly killed 15 people in Berlin

Authorities also accuse the doctor of attempting to destroy evidence by setting fires at the victims’ homes. He has been in custody since August 6, 2023.

The court has scheduled 35 trial dates through January 28, 2026. Thirteen family members of the deceased are taking part in the proceedings as co-plaintiffs. Around 150 witnesses could be called, with multiple witnesses expected for each of the 15 cases named in the indictment.

The defendant has declined to speak during the trial so far and did not agree to a psychiatric interview prior to the proceedings. A court-appointed psychiatric expert will instead assess the doctor’s mental state through his courtroom behavior and witness testimony.

The motive remains unclear. While all victims were seriously ill, prosecutors state that their deaths were not expected at the time of administration of the fatal drug combination.

In addition to the 15 confirmed murder cases, German prosecutors are investigating dozens of other suspicious deaths. A special investigative team from the Berlin State Criminal Police and the public prosecutor’s office has examined 395 cases. In 95 of those, initial suspicions of foul play were confirmed and preliminary proceedings were launched. Investigations remain active in 75 of the cases, with five additional exhumations pending.

The trial recalls a 2019 case in which a German nurse received a life sentence for murdering 87 patients by inducing cardiac arrest. Earlier this month, investigators in Itzehoe, northern Germany, opened a separate case against another doctor suspected of multiple patient deaths.

As Germany confronts another disturbing case of alleged medical killings, the trial of Johannes M. is expected to be one of the most closely watched in recent memory.