A palliative care doctor in Germany has been jailed for life after killing 15 of his patients, who were between the ages of 25 and 94. Known only as Johannes M., 41, the Berlin-based medic is thought to have killed 12 women and three men in a murderous rampage between 2021 and 2024. Described by prosecutors as having a “lust for murder,” he is thought to have used lethal sedative cocktails to kill his victims. He was also accused of, on five occasions, covering his tracks by setting fire to their homes. He came clean to the court on Monday as he was convicted, admitting he had “killed people,” adding “I despair at myself,” and only now did he grasp “the extent of the suffering” he had caused, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported. He “administered an anesthetic and a muscle relaxant to his patients without their knowledge or consent,” a statement from the Berlin prosecutor’s office said. “The latter paralyzed the respiratory muscles, leading to respiratory arrest and death within minutes.” Prosecutors said he was suspected of killing over 70 people, and Presiding Judge Sylvia Busch said the crimes he has been convicted of may only have been the tip of the iceberg. Prosecutors requested a life sentence, and that measures to reduce the likelihood of early release be inserted.
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