A 39-year-old doctor has been detained in Berlin, suspected of four counts of manslaughter, Berlin police and the public prosecutor’s office reported on Wednesday. The doctor, who specializes in palliative care and works for a nursing service, allegedly killed four female patients in their homes in June.
The victims, aged between 72 and 94, were reportedly killed under unclear circumstances. In one instance, an 87-year-old woman was resuscitated but later died in the hospital. The doctor is also accused of attempting to cover up his crimes by starting fires in three of the victims’ apartments.
The suspect was brought before a magistrate on Tuesday after his arrest. One of the alleged victims, a 76-year-old woman, was killed in her flat in the Neukölln district, after which the doctor unsuccessfully tried to set her apartment on fire and then informed her relatives she was not responding to the doorbell.
This case follows another incident in April where a former cardiologist from Berlin’s Charité hospital was convicted of killing two seriously ill patients with lethal overdoses.
