Overview
- Loubna Assila, the anesthetist for one victim, told jurors she believes her 73-year-old patient died from exogenous hyperkalemia consistent with the method prosecutors attribute to Frédéric Péchier.
- Assila described a toxic work climate at Besançon’s Clinique Saint‑Vincent, recounting clashes with Péchier, a sick leave during pregnancy, and the sudden fatal arrest of her first returning patient.
- Lead investigator Olivier Verguet testified that two 2016 fatalities involved patients of anesthetists Péchier viewed as “plotters,” citing recurring coincidences such as first‑of‑day surgeries, Péchier’s early arrivals, adjacent operating rooms, and his presence during resuscitations.
- Police and medical witnesses outlined a theory that potassium was introduced into infusion bags on the mornings of operations, while Péchier denies any wrongdoing.
- In separate testimony, the father of Tedy, who suffered a cardiac arrest at age four in 2016, read his son’s letter and described lasting neurological and physical effects as experts discussed poisoning hypotheses involving local anesthetics or potassium.