Doctor kills two patients with drugs at group therapy session

TWO patients were killed and 10 others taken to hospital after a doctor leading their group therapy session gave them drugs and other substances, Berlin police said.

One of the injured is comatose and in a critical condition.

The doctor who led the session has admitted giving the participants various substances during the meeting, Martin Steltner, a spokesman for the Berlin prosecutor's office, said. It was not clear whether illegal drugs were given and if the substances were injected or taken orally but some reports said they included heroin and ecstasy.

Police said post-mortem examinations had been carried out on the two victims but "the chemical-toxicological investigation will take a while".

The session took place in a house and medical practice in the Hermsdorf suburb of northern Berlin.

The 50-year-old doctor who worked there was detained and a homicide division was investigating the case, said police. The doctor, his 41-year-old wife, who runs a practice for alternative medicine in the same building, and 12 other people attended the session on Saturday.

"During the session, which lasted several hours, he supposedly gave the patients various kinds of substances and drugs that initially led to reactions like nausea and vomiting," the police statement said.

When the symptoms got worse, one of the participants called emergency services.

Police and ambulance crews found 12 people who appeared to have been severely poisoned, the statement added.

A 59-year-old man died at the scene and a 28-year-old man died that night in the hospital.

Nine people were released from hospital yesterday, but one patient is still critically ill.

On the internet, the doctor identifies himself as a psychotherapist for individuals and groups.

He specialises in "depth psychology, bodywork and art therapy, and spiritual crises", according to his website.