A French court has sentenced former anaesthetist Frédéric Péchier to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of systematically poisoning 30 patients, 12 of whom died. Prosecutors and multiple media outlets have described the case as one of the most shocking abuses of medical trust in recent French history.
On Thursday, December 18, the cour d’assises du Doubs convicted Péchier, aged 53, of deliberately contaminating intravenous infusion bags with toxic substances such as potassium, local anaesthetics, adrenaline, and heparin. These substances caused cardiac arrests or severe haemorrhaging in vulnerable patients undergoing unrelated procedures. Péchier received the harshest French criminal sentence, with a 22-year period of mandatory incarceration before eligibility for parole, and he was permanently banned from practising medicine.
The court found Péchier guilty of 30 poisonings committed between 2008 and 2017 at two private clinics in Besançon, in eastern France. Victims ranged from a four-year-old child to an 89-year-old adult. Twelve of the poisoning cases resulted in death, while others survived but suffered severe and lasting health effects. Prosecutors told the court that Péchier consciously polluted the infusion bags of patients treated by his colleagues with the intention of causing harm and undermining other doctors. During the trial, which lasted more than three months, medical experts and surviving victims testified about the physical and emotional impact of the poisonings.
Péchier denied the charges throughout the trial, asserting his innocence and claiming that he had upheld the Hippocratic Oath. His attorney argued there was no direct, irrefutable evidence. Despite this, the jury sided with the prosecution, and Péchier announced plans to appeal the verdict.
The prosecution and French media described Péchier as a “serial killer” who abused his medical authority to harm patients, shocking the public and the medical community. Families of victims expressed relief at the verdict but also deep anguish over the betrayal of trust by a healthcare professional. Legal experts say the case may prompt renewed scrutiny of hospital oversight, medical safeguards, and professional monitoring systems to prevent similar abuses in the future.
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