By Anne Losensky
A demigod in white as a murderer in the dock, a nurse is said to have pulled the trigger for the doctor – with a syringe. A whistleblower brought the Charité scandal to light.
Day 2 in the trial against Dr. med. Gunther S. (56) and nurse Katja W. (39). The specialist in internal medicine was senior physician in the cardiological intensive care unit at the Charité/Campus Virchow until August 2022.
He has been behind bars since May 8, 2023. First it was about murder allegations. But the judges see it differently and are dealing with manslaughter: Ulrich B. (73) died on November 21, 2021, and Margarete G. (73) died on July 23, 2022.
A nurse (28) then went to the Charité’s trusted lawyers. Four strange deaths were investigated, two sufficient for warrants and charges. The doctor and nurse remain silent in court.
Now the “whistleblower” is revealing herself as a key witness:
► “The doctor told Sister Katja to stop resuscitating the patient and to inject the sedative propofol. She didn’t react, the dose was very high. He repeated his order and only then did she carry it out. The patient died. Afterwards she said she wouldn’t do it again.”
► “He injected the patient with the drug himself. The minutes passed. Then he squirted again. Then she died. His propofol doses were not recorded in the documentation.”
► “I started writing memory logs. I knew his nickname was Priest. As a companion to dying.” The judge asks whether she means active euthanasia? She doesn’t say anything about it.
Prosecutor Martin Knispel: “Without her this would never have become known. She couldn’t reconcile it with her conscience, which was very brave of her.”
An investigation is still ongoing. “There is nothing to suggest that the doctor did it out of pity. Possibly out of self-importance.” Verdict on January 16th.