Elderly patients killed? Investigators are investigating up to 20 cases

Itzehoe. According to information from the German Press Agency, investigators are investigating 15 to 20 cases of allegations against a doctor from the Pinneberg district near Hamburg on initial suspicion of killing elderly patients. According to the Itzehoe public prosecutor's office, the number of cases is in the low double digits, with the crimes occurring between 2020 and 2025. The Flensburger Tageblatt and the Bild newspaper had previously reported on the case.

The doctor's possible motives are still unknown. "The motive is still under investigation," said Itzehoe Senior Public Prosecutor Peter Müller-Rakow this afternoon. According to previous statements from the senior public prosecutor, the doctor has so far remained silent on the allegations. The proceedings against him have been ongoing since June 3.

How the case got rolling

As the "Bild" newspaper reported, the wife reported the doctor after separating from him. She reportedly worked in the practice with her husband. Müller-Rakow only confirmed that the investigation was based on a criminal complaint filed by a private individual.

The paper also reported that the doctor intended to resign his license as a statutory health insurance physician in June 2025, officially for personal reasons. The "Bild" newspaper also quoted a relative whose aunt was in a nursing home in Elmshorn as saying that whenever the doctor visited, "someone was always dead the next day."

Special task force was set up

At the end of June, three exhumations were carried out at the cemetery in Barmstedt (Pinneberg district) as part of the investigation. According to the public prosecutor's office, further exhumations are not ruled out.

The criminal investigation department has set up a special commission to investigate the case. The public prosecutor's office pointed out that the investigation is based on initial suspicion and the presumption of innocence applies. (dpa)