German doctor arrested on suspicion of killing coronavirus patients
- Murder investigation opened after two severely ill men died of a lethal injection
- Police say the suspect confessed to one of the killings, saying he wanted to spare the patient and his relatives further suffering
German police said they had opened a murder inquiry against a senior doctor in the western city of Essen over the killing of two seriously ill coronavirus patients with a lethal injection, authorities.
The doctor, 44, who had been working at the University Hospital in Essen since February, is suspected of having killed two men, aged 47 and 50, who were in intensive care with very severe cases of the disease, Essen police said on Friday.
They said the man, who was arrested on Wednesday, had confessed to one of the killings, saying that he had wanted to spare the patient and his relatives further suffering.
The Bild daily reported that the doctor had informed the patients’ families before killing them with a lethal injection.
Ill patients can request help in ending their lives in Germany under a court ruling issued last year, but it was unclear if this had happened in the doctor’s case.