A 40-year-old German doctor is standing trial for allegedly murdering 15 patients in Berlin. The accused, identified in local media as Johannes M., worked in palliative care. He is said to have used lethal doses of sedatives on patients between September 2021 and July 2024.
Twelve of the victims were women. The other three were men. They were aged between 25 and 94. Prosecutors say the doctor sometimes set fire to their homes to cover his tracks.
Prosecutor Philipp Meyhoefer described Johannes M. as a man who “acted with a complete disregard for life… and conducted himself as the master of life and death.”
He allegedly visited his victims “under the guise of providing medical assistance,” but had arranged “home visits, premeditated with the intention of murder.”
Concerns first came to light last year after a colleague noticed an odd pattern. Too many of Johannes’ patients were dying in house fires.
He was arrested in August 2024. At the time, he was linked to four deaths. By April 2025, the charges rose to 15 confirmed murders. Authorities are now reviewing 96 more cases, including that of his mother-in-law, who died in Poland during a family visit.
Similar to past horrors in Germany
Johannes M. is not the first German healthcare worker to face such damning accusations. In 2019, nurse Niels Hoegel was sentenced to life for killing 85 patients with fatal injections over five years.
Hoegel is known as modern Germany’s deadliest serial killer.
Johannes M. had initially trained as a radiologist and general practitioner before moving into palliative care. Prosecutors believe “he had no motive other than killing,” and they’re pushing for a life sentence.
Just last week, German authorities said they were also investigating another doctor suspected of murdering several elderly patients.
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