A court in Besançon, eastern France, has sentenced former anaesthetist Frédéric Péchier to life imprisonment for deliberately poisoning at least 30 patients, killing 12, in one of France’s most disturbing medical crimes in recent history.
Péchier contaminated infusion bags with toxic substances, causing cardiac arrests and severe haemorrhaging, including to a four-year-old child who survived two cardiac arrests during routine surgery.
Prosecutors condemned Péchier as a “poisoner” who turned the clinic “into a graveyard.” The case emerged after Sandra Simard, 36, suffered a sudden cardiac arrest during spinal surgery, revealing potassium levels in her infusion 100 times higher than normal, which triggered the investigation.
Throughout the 15-week trial, Péchier denied responsibility, claiming he upheld the Hippocratic oath. Judges rejected his defence, ruling the poisonings were intentional. He must serve at least 22 years before parole eligibility and has 10 days to appeal.
The case has sent shockwaves through France’s medical community, raising urgent concerns about patient safety and hospital oversight.