New 'Harold Shipman' as serial killer doctor 'murders four patients just for the thrill of it'

Medic Johannes M. worked for a nursing service in Berlin, Germany - and is suspected of giving his elderly patients a cocktail of drugs in a sickening murder spree lasting years

A doctor suspected of murdering four of his elderly patients for the "thrill of it" may actually be responsible for the deaths of at least eight.

The 40-year-old doctor, named only as Johannes M., worked for a nursing service in Berlin, Germany, where he is accused of giving elderly patients a cocktail of drugs in a sickening murder spree which lasted years, prosecutors say. According to local media, he was first arrested in August when police suspected him of manslaughter.

But after combing through evidence from a grim, ever-growing body count, prosecutors are preparing at least four murder charges. The case has chilling similarities to that of British GP Harold Shipman, who is believed to have killed hundreds of patients by giving them a lethal dose of drugs.

The former doctor was one of the most prolific serial killers in modern history, convicted of the murders of 15 women but with an estimated total bodycount of 250. Some 80% of his victims were female OAPS.

Shipman, a mild-mannered Scrabble player and crime novel fan, was a respected GP in the small town of Hyde and his elderly female patients were said to "adore" him. But instead of treating them, the father-of-four would inject them with a lethal dose of diamorphine. Most of his victims were found sitting upright in a chair, fully clothed and seemed to have died of natural causes.

In the case of the German doctor, his alleged killing spree is said to have began in 2022, where he is accused of drugging a 70-year-old woman to death, then setting her home on fire to cover up the killing. Another 70-year-old patient died at home in January this year after being given a lethal combination of drugs, prosecutors say.

Officers believe the doctor killed two further victims aged 61 and 83. Berlin prosecutor's office spokesman Sebastian Buchner told local media another four suspicious deaths were being investigated, but warned the figure could rise. Buchner added they could find no motive for the killings except for "the thrill of it".

The doctor has not given any statement to police about the deaths, local media reports. All the patients had been seriously ill with Johannes making up part of a team providing them palliative care in their own homes.

A trial is expected to begin next year.