Doctor Death: Doctor who killed his patients to showcase his skills goes on trial

8.9.2025
A French doctor accused of intentionally poisoning 30 child and adult patients, 12 of whom died, went on trial Monday, saying before the hearing he was not responsible for the ‘distress’ of his alleged victims and their families.
Frederic Pechier, 53, worked as an anesthetist at two clinics in the eastern city of Besancon when patients went into cardiac arrest in suspicious circumstances between 2008 to 2017. Twelve could not be resuscitated.
He is accused of triggering heart attacks in patients so he could show off his resuscitation skills and discredit co-workers.
Pechier’s youngest alleged victim, a four-year-old identified as Teddy, survived two cardiac arrests during a routine tonsil operation in 2016. The doctor’s oldest alleged victim was 89.
The trial caps an eight-year investigation that stunned the medical community. Pechier has denied the charges.
Pechier was greeted on his arrival at the court by several relatives, including one who shouted: ‘Come on, Fredo.’
‘It’s necessary to lay all the cards on the table,’ Pechier told broadcaster RTL earlier Monday, adding that he had ‘strong arguments’ in his defence.
Asked about the suffering of the families who will attend the trial, set to last until December, Pechier replied: ‘I understand it completely, but on the other hand, I am not responsible for their distress.’
Frederic Pechier, 53, goes on trial on September 8, 2025, accused of intentionally poisoning 30 patients, 12 of whom died, in an alleged attempt to show off his resuscitation skills and discredit co-workers
Frederic Pechier, 53, goes on trial on September 8, 2025, accused of intentionally poisoning 30 patients, 12 of whom died, in an alleged attempt to show off his resuscitation skills and discredit co-workers
Pechier, a father of three, faces life imprisonment if convicted. He is not currently in custody but under judicial supervision, an alternative to pre-trial detention.
Pechier has not practised medicine since 2017, even though in 2023, he was authorised to work provided he does not come into contact with patients. AFP
Pechier is suspected of tampering with his colleagues’ paracetamol bags or anaesthesia pouches to create operating room emergencies where he could intervene to show off his resuscitating talents.
‘What he is accused of is poisoning healthy patients in order to harm colleagues with whom he was in conflict,’ Manteaux said.
‘Frederic Pechier was the first responder when cardiac arrest occurred,’ he added. ‘He always had a solution.’ AFP