Besançon poisonings
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The Besançon poisonings is a French legal case involving a French anesthesiologist who is being prosecuted for several dozen alleged poisonings that occurred in Besançon between 2008 and 2017. A renowned physician in his field, he is suspected of deliberately inducing cardiac arrest or serious complications in surgical patients by manipulating anesthetic infusion bags in order to position himself to intervene and appear as a savior, known in criminology as an angel of mercy.
The case broke in 2017 when several unusual medical incidents raised alarms. An initial indictment was issued in 2017, expanded in 2019 and then in 2022, covering a total of thirty cases, including twelve fatalities. The physician maintains his innocence and denounces a lack of direct material evidence. The complex and highly publicized investigation involves medical experts and investigators to determine the practitioner's responsibility.[1][2]
Events
[edit]Frédéric Péchier was first indicted in 2017 for seven poisonings. He was released, placed under judicial supervision, and banned from practicing his profession.
On January 20, 2017, a 70-year-old man undergoing surgery for prostate cancer suffered a cardiac arrest. Tests revealed a massive injection of mepivacaine equivalent to nine times the normal dose. This is the only case in which Frédéric Péchier was directly the referring anesthesiologist and in which a syringe containing the product was found. This case is considered by the prosecution to be the key piece of evidence in the case, but the accused continues to dispute it, citing outside manipulation.
The case was reopened in May 2019, with the anesthesiologist suspected by investigators of poisoning twenty-four people, including a four-year-old child.
These alleged malicious acts, which occurred at the Saint-Vincent clinic and the Franche-Comté Polyclinic in Besançon, are said to have led to fatal cardiac arrests in some cases and serious after-effects in others. On May 16, 2019, after 48 hours of prolonged police custody, the doctor was brought before the judge of liberties, who nevertheless decided not to place him in pre-trial detention.
See also
[edit]- Angel of death (criminology)
- Efren Saldivar, a respiratory therapist and serial killer who used paralytics to induce cardiac arrest
References
[edit]- ^ Kirby, Paul (2025-09-08). "French doctor goes on trial for poisoning 30 patients, 12 fatally". BBC News. Retrieved 2025-09-08.
- ^ Seckel, Henri (2025-09-08). "[Redacted] ... anesthesiologist accused of 30 poisonings, goes on trial". Le Monde. Retrieved 2025-09-08.