Overview
- The Doubs assize court released a 57-page statement of reasons on December 23 describing Frédéric Péchier as a “serial killer” and detailing its legal and factual findings.
- Judges conclude he used anesthesiology expertise to contaminate transfusion bags in order to harm certain colleagues, with victims chosen at random.
- The ruling reviews 30 poisonings in Besançon private clinics from 2008 to 2017, including 12 deaths despite some resuscitation attempts by the doctor.
- The motivations outline a divided personality and a quest for paternal recognition, note a 2014 suicide attempt, and cite a major risk of reoffending to justify a 22-year security period.
- After the December 18 verdict, Péchier was incarcerated in Besançon under isolation with suicide-prevention measures, and his defense has filed an appeal.