A French court delivered a landmark verdict on December 19, 2025, sentencing anesthesiologist Frédéric Pechier to life imprisonment for deliberately poisoning 30 patients – 12 fatally – between 2008 and 2017. The 53-year-old doctor allegedly contaminated IV bags with lethal substances at two Besançon clinics to discredit colleagues amid workplace conflicts.
Prosecutors revealed Pechier used potassium, adrenaline, and anticoagulants to induce cardiac arrests during routine procedures. His youngest victim, four-year-old Teddy, survived two heart failures during a 2016 tonsil surgery. The case came to light in 2017 when unusual complications surfaced in low-risk operations.
Presiding Judge Delphine Thibierge ordered immediate incarceration, stating Pechier 'used medicine to kill.' While the defendant maintained innocence – claiming 'I am not a poisoner' – colleagues described him as skilled but driven by an 'oversized ego.' His legal team has announced plans to appeal.
This verdict follows another shocking medical crime earlier this year, when retired doctor Joel Le Scouarnec received a 20-year sentence for sexually abusing 298 patients. Both cases have intensified scrutiny of France's medical oversight systems.
