Doctor Accused of Poisoning Patients to Show Off Resuscitation Skills: Reports

A doctor in France has been accused of intentionally poisoning multiple patients to show off his resuscitation skills when they went into cardiac arrest, according to reports.

On Monday, Sept. 8, Frédéric Péchier’s trial began at the Doubs Assize Court in the eastern city of Besançon, per French outlets RTL, Le Monde and France 24.

Péchier, 53, is accused of poisoning 30 child and adult patients, 12 of whom died, when he worked as an anaesthetist at Besançon clinics Saint-Vincent Clinic and the Franche-Comté Polyclinic between 2008 and 2017, France 24 reported.

The patients allegedly poisoned were between the ages of 4 and 89, according to Le Monde. Péchier has claimed he isn’t guilty of the crimes, the outlet noted.

Péchier is suspected of triggering heart attacks in patients so he could show off his resuscitation skills and allegedly discredit co-workers, France 24 noted.

The youngest victim, identified as Teddy, survived two cardiac arrests while undergoing a routine tonsil operation in 2016, the outlet stated.

Péchier has been accused of tampering with his colleagues’ paracetamol bags or anesthesia pouches so he could create operating room emergencies and show off his resuscitating capabilities, France 24 reported.

The investigation came after Sandra Simard, then 36, suffered a cardiac arrest, which she survived, while undergoing an operation in January 2017, Le Monde stated. A potentially lethal dose of potassium was then found in a bag of saline used for her anesthesia, the outlet noted.

She was otherwise healthy, but her heart stopped beating while she was having surgery on her spine, the BBC reported. An intensive care physician failed to revive her, so Péchier stepped in and gave her an injection, the outlet stated.

Jean-Claude Gandon, who was age 70 at the time, is believed to be the only one of the 30 victims who was directly anesthetized by Péchier, Le Monde reported. He was able to be resuscitated.

Prosecutor Etienne Manteaux said of Péchier, “What he is accused of is poisoning healthy patients in order to harm colleagues with whom he was in conflict,” per France 24.

“Frédéric Pechier was the first responder when cardiac arrest occurred,” he added, according to the outlet. “He always had a solution.”

Péchier reportedly blamed “medical errors” by his colleagues for the majority of the alleged poisonings, France 24 noted.

Damien Iehlen, 53, was thought to be the first fatality in October 2008, according to the BBC. He’d gone to the Saint-Vincent Clinic for a routine kidney operation and died after going into cardiac arrest. Tests then confirmed he’d been given a potentially lethal dose of the drug lidocaine.

Péchier told RTL that he was “apprehensive” going into the trial, but insisted he had “strong arguments and I’m not going into it reluctantly.”

“It’s very easy to accuse people, it’s harder to prove things,” one of the suspect’s lawyers, Randall Schwerdorffer, told reporters in court, per Le Monde.

Péchier, who is a father of three, said when questioned about the suffering of the families set to attend the trial, “I understand it completely, but on the other hand, I am not responsible for their distress,” France 24 stated.

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The suspect has not practiced medicine since 2017 and hasn’t been imprisoned throughout the eight-year investigation, France 24 noted. He’s instead been under judicial supervision, which is an alternative to pre-trial detention, per the outlet, which added that he was authorized to work in 2023 as long as he didn’t come into contact with patients.

The trial is expected to last until December, per France 24. Péchier faces life imprisonment if convicted, the outlet noted.

The private healthcare provider Elsan, Péchier’s lawyer Randall Schwerdorffer and the Doubs Assize Court didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information.