Marie Brand und der überwundene Tod (2022)

Chief anesthesiologist Raimund Weirath is found lifeless on the grounds of a clinic. Since attempts were made to resuscitate him and he was immediately taken to the trauma room, all traces at the scene have been destroyed by the time Detective Marie Brand and her colleague Jürgen Simmel arrive. They try to find clues about the perpetrator through witness statements. A man was seen hurrying away from the grounds, but the description is very vague. At the clinic, Marie Brand runs into someone she knows personally, Dr. Florian Groth. He immediately draws her attention to a recent case: the relatives of the patient involved hold Weirath responsible. Jessica Krämer, daughter of former professional boxer Joe Krämer, has just been declared brain-dead after falling into a coma following a botched general anesthetic. Krämer suffered from a blood-clotting disorder that nobody had known about beforehand. Her father, who is currently serving a prison sentence, was apparently at the clinic at the time of the incident, as he is in an open prison program. The witness’s description matches Joe Krämer, and a search is launched for him. Witness Mathilda Fassbender, who runs a painting business with her father and is currently working at the clinic, reports that Weirath had argued with nurse Hilli. But Dr. Florian Groth had also been at odds with Weirath and will now take over as head of the department following his death. The investigators look into these disputes, but do not consider them sufficient to constitute a motive for murder. Meanwhile, Joe Krämer turns himself in to the police. He admits to punching Weirath in a fit of anger after Weirath told him that his daughter’s condition was hopeless—a condition Krämer believed Weirath had caused—and then asked for permission to donate her organs. He says he only gave Weirath a light “slap” in the parking lot, and that Weirath fell against his car. Brand considers it possible that Weirath then walked as far as the park and collapsed there, which would not amount to direct murder, but could at least be assault resulting in death. However, the autopsy reveals that force had been applied to Weirath’s respiratory organs, meaning someone must have forcibly suffocated him while he was possibly lying on the ground. The forensic pathologist finds dried paint particles in his windpipe. From the very beginning of the investigation, Brand had noticed Mathilda Fassbender’s conspicuous interest in Jessica Krämer’s fate. As Brand looks into the family background, a motive also becomes apparent: Mathilda’s brother was also declared brain-dead after a serious accident. He was taken to Weirath’s clinic for organ retrieval, and as they said goodbye, their mother believed Tobias had squeezed her hand. Weirath dismissed it as a normal reflex, something their mother has never been able to come to terms with. Mathilda had been deeply affected by all of this too, and felt that her mother no longer noticed her. By killing Weirath, she hoped to win her mother back for herself.