'Dr Death': French anaesthetist found guilty of killing 12 patients and poisoning 30

Court heard Frédéric Péchier was a 'serial killer' who was 'highly twisted' and had tampered with colleagues’ paracetamol bags or anaesthesia pouches to poison patients, triggering heart attacks

Frédéric Péchier was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday after state prosecutors said he was 'one of the biggest criminals in the history of the French legal system'. Picture: Arnaud Finistre / AFP via Getty Images

A French anaesthetist, described by prosecutors as “Dr Death”, has been found guilty of intentionally poisoning 30 patients and killing 12 over almost a decade as a top medic.

Frédéric Péchier, 53, once seen by colleagues as a “star anaesthetist”, was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday after state prosecutors said he was “one of the biggest criminals in the history of the French legal system”.