Besançon poisonings
Frédéric Péchier | |
|---|---|
| Born | 22 January 1972 |
| Citizenship | French |
| Occupation | Anesthesiologist |
| Criminal status | Convicted; imprisoned; appeal planned |
| Motive | To intervene in emergencies and appear heroic; to discredit colleagues and feed thirst for power |
| Convictions | 30 counts of intentional poisoning |
| Criminal charge | Intentional poisoning |
| Penalty | Life imprisonment with 22-year minimum term |
| Details | |
| Victims | 30 |
Span of crimes | 2008–2017 |
| Country | France |
| Locations | Saint-Vincent clinic and Franche-Comté Polyclinic, Besançon |
| Killed | 12 |
| Injured | 18 (serious complications) |
| Weapons | Contamination of anesthetic infusion bags with overdoses of potassium, local anesthetics (e.g., mepivacaine), adrenaline, or heparin |
Date apprehended | 2017 (initial indictment) |
| Imprisoned at | 18 December 2025 |
The Besançon poisonings is a French legal case resulting in the conviction of French anesthesiologist Frédéric Péchier to a life sentence for intentionally poisoning 30 patients and killing 12.
The poisonings took place in Besançon between 2008 and 2017. A renowned physician in his field, Péchier was found guilty 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. Péchier 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
The physician was first indicted in 2017 for seven poisonings. He was released, placed under judicial supervision, and banned from practicing his profession.
On 20 January 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 the physician 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 16 May 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.
In December 2025, at the end of a three-month trial, he was convicted to a life sentence.[3]
Known victims
The Frédéric Péchier case, at the start of his trial, involves 30 alleged victims, 12 of whom are deceased.[4]
| Date | Name | Age | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 October 2008 | Damien Iehlen | 53 years old | Deceased |
| 14 October 2008 | Suzanne Ziegler | 74 years old | Deceased |
| 7 April 2009 | Bénedicte B. | 41 years old | |
| 27 April 2009 | Michel V. | 48 years old | |
| 22 June 2009 | Nicole D. | 65 years old | |
| 8 September 2009 | Éric G. | 49 years old | |
| 25 September 2009 | Sylvie G. | 41 years old | |
| 15 September 2010 | Monique Varguet | 64 years old | Deceased |
| 8 July 2011 | Ulysse B. | 61 years old | |
| 9 January 2012 | Christian P. | 63 years old | |
| 19 January 2012 | Micheline G. | 52 years old | |
| 31 January 2012 | Denise M. | 80 years old | |
| 5 September 2012 | Pascal B. | ||
| 11 December 2012 | Annie Noblet | 66 years old | Deceased |
| 7 February 2013 | Monique C. | 62 years old | |
| 27 June 2013 | Anne-Marie Gaugey | 66 years old | Deceased |
| 3 mars 2014 | Armand Dos Santos | 72 years old | Deceased |
| 10 June 2014 | Jean Benoît | 79 years old | Deceased |
| 8 January 2015 | Odile L. | 43 years old | |
| 13 mars 2015 | Edith Bongain | 89 years old | Deceased |
| 20 April 2015 | Sylviane Baugey | 57 years old | Deceased |
| 5 October 2015 | Christian D. | 66 years old | |
| 28 January 2016 | Wilhem B. | 16 years old | |
| 22 February 2016 | Tedy H. | 4 years | |
| 14 April 2016 | Laurence Nicod | 50 years | Deceased |
| 5 September 2016 | Kévin B. | 26 years old | |
| 31 October 2016 | Bertrand Collette | 56 years old | Deceased |
| 21 November 2016 | Henri Quenillet | 73 years old | Deceased |
| 11 January 2017 | Sandra Simard | 36 years old | |
| 20 January 2017 | Jean-Claude Gandon | 70 years old |
See also
- Angel of death (criminology)
- Efren Saldivar, a respiratory therapist and serial killer who used paralytics to induce cardiac arrest
References
- ^ Kirby, Paul (8 September 2025). "French doctor goes on trial for poisoning 30 patients, 12 fatally". BBC News. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
- ^ Seckel, Henri (8 September 2025). "[Redacted] ... anesthesiologist accused of 30 poisonings, goes on trial". Le Monde. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
- ^ Angelique Chrisafis (18 December 2025). "French court finds 'twisted' anaesthetist guilty of killing 12 patients". theguardian.com. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
- ^ "Besançon. Procès Péchier : découvrez en détail les 30 cas d'empoisonnements dont est suspecté l'anesthésiste". www.estrepublicain.fr (in French). 24 August 2025. Retrieved 18 December 2025.