French anaesthetist Frederic Péchier (2nd R) arrives in a penitentiary administration vehicle at the courthouse for the hearing of the verdict in his trial for intentionally poisoning 30 child and adult patients, 12 of whom died, in the eastern France city of Besancon on December 18, 2025. ROMEO BOETZLE / AFP
A French court on Thursday, December 18, sentenced a doctor to life in jail for poisoning 30 child and adult patients, 12 of whom died, reportedly in an attempt to discredit co-workers.
Frederic Péchier, 53, worked as an anaesthetist in two clinics in the eastern city of Besancon, when patients went into cardiac arrest in suspicious circumstances between 2008 and 2017. Twelve could not be resuscitated. Péchier's youngest victim, 4-year-old Teddy, survived two cardiac arrests during a routine tonsil surgery in 2016. The oldest victim was 89.
"You will be incarcerated immediately," presiding judge Delphine Thibierge said. Péchier, who has denied wrongdoing and had not been detained since the start of the probe, appeared unmoved. Members of his family broke down in tears. A lawyer from the firm representing him, Ornella Spatafora, said he would appeal.
An investigation was launched in 2017, after suspicious cardiac arrests were recorded during operations on patients considered low-risk. During the more than three-month trial, prosecutors called for Péchier to be jailed for life, saying he "used medicine to kill."
