‘Serial killer doctor’ suspected of being behind deaths of four elderly patients

The physician is said to have started fires in the women's homes to try and cover his tracks.

A doctor is accused of killing four elderly patients before setting fire to their homes in a bid to cover his tracks.

The 39-year-old German physician worked in a palliative care team for an out-patient nursing care service in Berlin when he allegedly targeted his victims.

He is said to have killed four women aged between 72 and 94 between June and July.

Detectives are still trying to piece together his alleged method.

The spree is said to have started on June 11 when the unnamed medic allegedly killed an 87-year-old woman in her home in the Neukoelln district before setting her apartment ablaze.

He then targeted a 76-year-old woman a few miles away on July 8, it is claimed.

When the fire in her home fizzled out, he phoned a relative pretending to have just discovered her lifeless.

A week later he is said to have killed a 94-year-old woman whose body was discovered in her charred flat following another suspicious fire.

The last alleged victim, aged 72, was found in similar circumstances at her home in the neighbouring Plaenterwald district.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.