A doctor in Germany is suspected of killing eight patients and in some cases trying to cover up his alleged crimes by setting their homes on fire.
The doctor, aged 40, and who in line with Germany’s privacy laws hasn’t been named, was arrested in August on suspicion of killing four elderly patients in June and July, and then attempting to set fires at their apartments.
The doctor, who was part of a nursing service’s palliative care team, is now suspected of having killed double that number as prosecutors and the police said more cases surfaced when they examined patients’ files and carried out forensic examinations of suspected victims, two of whom had been exhumed.
Some of his alleged victims include a 70-year-old man who died in January after the doctor allegedly administered a lethal mixture of medicines.
In a similar case in early April, the alleged victim was a 61-year-old woman.
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A few weeks later, he is alleged to have killed an 83-year-old man in his room at a Berlin hospice with a mixture of medicines.
In June, the doctor is alleged to have killed a 70-year-old woman at her apartment before starting a fire. Firefighters were able to prevent the blaze from spreading to the rest of the building.
Prosecutors say he has not yet responded to the allegations.
The doctor was originally arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, arson and attempted arson but prosecutors said they are now treating the cases as murder because the suspect appears to have had no motive other than killing the patients.