Palliative doctor in court: 15 murders shock Berlin!

Palliative doctor in court: 15 murders shock Berlin!

A 40-year-old palliative care doctor, Johannes M., has been standing before the Berlin district court since July 2025, accused of 15 counts of murdering patients. The trial attracts great media interest and many relatives as co-plaintiffs. The indictment includes deaths that occurred between September 2021 and July 2024. Among the victims is 72-year-old Ingeburg B., whose body was found on July 24, 2024 after a fire in her apartment.

Her son, Henry B. (54), told the court about the last months of his mother, who had longed to live to be one hundred years old. A week before her death, Ingeburg B. and her oncologist decided that a third chemotherapy treatment no longer made sense. The fire in her apartment was not the cause of her death as she was already dead when the fire broke out. The public prosecutor's office alleges that Johannes M. Ingeburg B. administered an anesthetic and a muscle relaxant without her knowledge.

Investigations and suspicions

The investigations against Johannes M. indicate that he took advantage of his position of trust as a doctor. According to reports, he sometimes visited patients unannounced and they were often alone. It is believed that in some cases the doctor set fires to cover up the crimes. Information from nursing services made a decisive contribution to the investigation. A nurse remembered that Ingeburg B. was approachable on the morning of her death and complained of pain, which further adds weight to the allegations.

The aim of the prosecution is to achieve a conviction, a determination of the particular gravity of the guilt and preventive detention. In addition, a lifelong professional ban for Johannes M. is being sought. The case has parallels to the ex-nurse Niels H., who was convicted of 85 murders in 2019 and is considered one of the darkest chapters in German post-war history. Johannes M. is currently being investigated for the 15 murders, as well as in a second case involving 75 other incidents in which there is also initial suspicion. Among these cases is the death of the doctor's mother-in-law, who suffered from cancer.

Ethical issues

The complexity of the case also touches on many ethical issues in medicine. In this regard, the Ethics Committee addresses numerous topics, ranging from the use of custodial measures to the challenges of palliative care. The central question is often how the patient's wishes are preserved and in which cases medical interventions are considered appropriate.

Johannes M.'s defense has stated that he will not initially make a statement about the murder allegations. The trial against him is scheduled to end at the end of January 2026. The defendant's cell phone data shows that he was near Ingeburg B. on the day of the crime, which could support the prosecution's evidence. Henry B. said in court that he had been unable to sleep since his mother's death and had lost 50 kilograms, an indication of the enormous emotional pressure that his relatives are under.

Further information on the ethical aspects of medicine can be found in the specialist articles from the Academy for Ethics in Medicine, which include various interesting case studies and commentaries.
rbb24 reports, Ärzteblatt reports, Ethics Committee.