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 was 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.