A French anesthetist has been sentenced to life imprisonment for poisoning 30 patients, 12 of whom died as a result.
The 53-year-old Peychier previously served as an anesthetist at two clinics in the eastern French city of Besançon. Between 2008 and 2017, numerous patients suffered cardiac arrest under suspicious circumstances during his practice, resulting in 12 deaths.
Victims and their families expressed gratitude that justice was served. Peychier’s defense lawyer stated that they would appeal the verdict.
Prosecutors accused Peychier of tampering with colleagues’ anesthetic drugs during his tenure at two clinics in Besançon from 2008 to 2017. This led to patients experiencing cardiac arrest or bleeding during surgery, after which he would rush to save them—using these incidents to undermine colleagues and simultaneously show off his own medical prowess. Peychier interfered in the surgeries of 30 patients, 12 of whom could not be resuscitated.
According to prosecutors, Peychier’s motive was to “psychologically harm” healthcare workers he had conflicts with, and “satisfy his craving for power.”
Peychier’s youngest victim was a 4-year-old child who survived two cardiac arrests during routine tonsil surgery in 2016. The oldest victim was 89 years old.
On the 18th, a French court sentenced Peychier to life in prison and permanently revoked his medical license.
During the more than three-month-long trial, prosecutors sought a life sentence for Peychier, stating that he “used medical methods to kill.” Prosecutor Manteau said: “This is an unprecedented case in the history of French justice.”