The case of an attempted murder of a cardiologist working at the Charité Hospital in Berlin (7 August, p 308) will probably remain unsolved.
The Berlin district attorney's spokesman, Michael Grunwald, announced last week that the investigations would be stopped as the police have no hope of ever solving the case on the basis of the available evidence.
On 5 March 2004 the cardiologist, known only as Felix M, collapsed a few hours after he had taken a drink from a bottle of mineral water while in his laboratory. After he was admitted to intensive care, the water was found to have been poisoned with a polyacrylamide, and the Charité managers called the police. Their investigations suggested that someone working at the hospital had deliberately tried to kill the cardiologist.
The Charité Hospital's management reacted with amazement and disappointment at the announcement. “It is completely unsatisfactory to us that this case is not solved,” said Professor Ulrich Frei, medical director of the hospital. He said that the management would consult with the hospital's lawyers.
Like his colleague, Professor Detlev Ganten, head of the Charité, Professor Frei had ruled out competitiveness and jealousy among scientists as the leading motive. However, the spokeswoman from the Berlin Medical Council, Sybille Golkowski, said that in times of scarce resources for jobs and funding, scientists are under great pressure to succeed.