Keypoints:
German doctor admitted killing 12 patients during his Berlin murder trial.
He continues to face 15 murder charges.
The doctor said self-reflection, not evidence, prompted his confession.
Prosecutors allege he gave patients lethal drugs without consent.
Authorities are investigating additional suspected patient deaths
A German palliative care doctor has admitted to killing 12 patients during his ongoing murder trial in Berlin, marking a dramatic development in one of Germany's most disturbing recent healthcare crime cases. The confession came on the 54th hearing day before the Berlin Regional Court, nearly a year after the trial began in July 2025.
The 40-year-old physician, whose identity has not been officially disclosed under German privacy laws, is on trial before the Berlin Regional Court for the alleged murders of 15 patients between September 2021 and July 2024. The victims include 12 women and three men aged between 25 and 87 years, according to German prosecutors.
On the 54th hearing day of the trial, the doctor delivered a roughly 30-minute statement admitting responsibility for 12 of the alleged killings while declining to comment on the remaining three charges.
According to court proceedings reported by German news agency dpa, the doctor said he was now prepared to accept responsibility for his actions.
Addressing the court, the doctor expressed remorse for his actions.
"It is only now that I am able to explain my actions, and I accept responsibility for what I have done," he said during the hearing.
He also apologized to the families of the victims, as well as to his own relatives and colleagues.
"I apologise for the great suffering I have caused them."
The statement marked the first time the defendant had publicly acknowledged responsibility during the proceedings. Earlier in the trial, he had declined to address the court on the charges.
According to prosecutors, the doctor administered a lethal combination of medications to patients receiving palliative care, allegedly without their knowledge or consent.
Investigators say the victims were not actively dying at the time they received the fatal drugs. Prosecutors have previously alleged that the physician injected patients with an anaesthetic followed by a muscle relaxant, causing respiratory paralysis and death within minutes.
A few weeks earlier, the court played recordings of wiretapped telephone conversations between the doctor and his wife while he was in prison. During the calls, he discussed the patient deaths and described his actions as "a moral act carried out by the wrong means," claiming he wanted to spare patients from "suffering and infirmity." At the same time, he maintained that he had not committed murder.
During the latest hearing, the doctor told the court that he chose to confess not because of the "overwhelming evidence" against him, but because of the self-reflection he had undertaken over the past several months.
The alleged murders occurred while the doctor worked in several German states between September 2021 and July 2024.
In a report by Reuters prosecutors also allege that the doctor attempted to cover up some of the deaths by deliberately setting fires at victims' homes after administering the fatal injections.
These suspected arson incidents first drew investigators' attention in 2024 when multiple patient deaths were linked to apartment fires. The doctor was arrested in August 2024 after initially being investigated in connection with four deaths.
As investigators examined additional medical records and exhumed bodies, the scope of the investigation expanded significantly. In April 2025, prosecutors formally charged him with 15 counts of murder.
Although the current trial concerns 15 alleged murders, prosecutors say the investigation is far from over.
German authorities continue reviewing dozens of additional suspected patient deaths linked to the doctor. Investigators are examining patient records, exhumation findings, and other forensic evidence to determine whether additional victims can be identified and whether further murder charges should be filed.
Officials have not disclosed how many of the additional investigations could ultimately result in criminal charges, and prosecutors have said the inquiry remains ongoing.
The Berlin Regional Court has scheduled 35 hearings through January 2026. At least 13 relatives of the deceased have joined the proceedings as joint plaintiffs.
(Rh/ARC/MSM)