French anesthesiologist sentenced to life in prison for poisoning 30 patients
Kyiv • UNN
A court in France has sentenced former anesthesiologist Frédéric Péchier to life in prison, finding him guilty of poisoning 30 patients, 12 of whom died. The doctor deliberately mixed substances that caused cardiac arrest to discredit colleagues or appear as a hero.
The court of the French city of Besançon sentenced former anesthesiologist Frédéric Péchier, known as "Doctor Death," to life imprisonment. The doctor was found guilty of poisoning 30 patients, 12 of whom died, between 2008 and 2017. This was reported by the BBC, writes UNN.
Details
The investigation established that Péchier deliberately mixed substances into patients' IVs that caused cardiac arrest or bleeding. Prosecutor Christine de Currez called the convicted man a "serial killer with a perverted nature."
According to the prosecution, he acted for two reasons: either to discredit colleagues with whom he was in conflict, or to personally "save" victims and appear as a hero in the eyes of the staff. Among the victims were an 89-year-old woman and a four-year-old child who suffered two cardiac arrests during a tonsillectomy.
Verdict and the convicted person's position
Despite numerous pieces of evidence, including expert conclusions about a 100-fold excess of potassium concentration in the victims' blood, Péchier did not admit his guilt. He claimed that the tragedies were the result of "medical errors" by other doctors. According to the verdict, he will spend at least 22 years in prison.
You are Doctor Death, a murderer and a poisoner. You have disgraced all doctors. You have turned this clinic into a cemetery.
For many surviving patients, the consequences of the poisonings remained for life. One of the victims, Sandra Simard, stated in court that her body constantly aches, as if she lives in an old person's body, although she is grateful for the opportunity to simply stay alive.