PARIS, Dec 18, 2025: A French court has sentenced a doctor, Frédéric Péchier, to life imprisonment for deliberately poisoning 30 patients, including children, between 2008 and 2017.
The court found that Dr. Péchier, an anesthesiologist, administered lethal doses of potassium to his patients, leading to fatal heart attacks. The prosecution revealed that his motive was to create suspicion around his colleagues and damage their reputations.
Described as psychologically troubled, Dr. Péchier was obsessed with proving himself as the best doctor, and his actions were deemed “extremely cruel” and driven by personal vanity at the expense of patients’ lives.
Dr. Péchier, who worked at two private clinics in Besançon, was sentenced to life without parole. He was also ordered to pay compensation to the victims’ families. Investigations uncovered that many victims, including children undergoing routine surgeries, were poisoned with dangerous amounts of potassium, causing unexplained heart attacks.