A German palliative care doctor is set to stand trial on Monday for the alleged murders of 15 patients, amid fears the actual death toll could be far higher. The 40-year-old physician, identified by German media as Johannes M., is accused of administering fatal drug cocktails to a dozen women and three men aged between 25 and 94, while working in Berlin from September 2021 to July 2024.
Lethal Sedatives and Suspicious Fires
According to prosecutors, Johannes M. injected the victims with a combination of sedatives and muscle relaxants without their consent, leading to rapid respiratory failure and death. In at least five cases, he allegedly set fire to the victims’ homes in an attempt to cover up the killings.
The case came to light last July when a colleague grew concerned about the unusual number of fire-related deaths among his patients. Following his arrest in August, Johannes M. was initially connected to four deaths—but an extended investigation led to charges in 15 murder cases filed in April 2025.
96 More Cases Under Investigation
Authorities are now reviewing an additional 96 suspicious deaths, including that of Johannes M.’s own mother-in-law, who died suddenly of cancer in Poland during a family visit in early 2024.
Johannes M., who previously trained as a radiologist and general practitioner, later specialized in palliative care. Ironically, he once wrote a doctoral thesis in 2013 that explored the psychology of serial killers, opening with the question: “Why do people kill?”
Chilling Pattern of Crimes
Prosecutors say that in all 15 confirmed cases, he administered drugs that paralyzed the respiratory muscles, causing death within minutes. On July 8, 2024, he allegedly killed two people on the same day—first a 75-year-old man in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district, then a 76-year-old woman in nearby Neukoelln. He reportedly started a fire in the woman’s apartment that failed to spread, after which he called a relative pretending to be concerned about her wellbeing.
In another disturbing incident, he lied about performing resuscitation on a 56-year-old victim. Although emergency responders managed to revive the patient temporarily, they died in hospital three days later.
No Known Motive
Johannes M. has so far remained silent on the charges. Prosecutors allege he had “no motive beyond killing” and are seeking a life sentence.
The case echoes that of Niels Hoegel, a German nurse sentenced in 2019 for murdering 85 patients with lethal injections—widely believed to be Germany’s worst serial killer. Other recent cases of healthcare-related killings include:
- A 27-year-old nurse convicted in 2023 for killing two patients with unauthorized drugs.
- A trial in Aachen earlier this year, where a nurse was accused of killing nine patients via overdoses.
- A new investigation in Pinneberg, where another doctor is suspected of fatally overdosing elderly patients.
The trial of Johannes M. is expected to draw national attention as Germany confronts yet another chilling case of medical professionals turned murderers.
