Without Mercy

The New York Times–bestselling psychologist and true crime author examines the twisted mind of a doctor driven to kill time and again. Dr. John Kappler was a well-respected physician in dozens of California hospitals, yet none of his patients ever imagined that his true calling was murder. The horror began the day he secretly attempted to kill three patients—including a pregnant woman who suffered permanent brain damage at his hands. Then, in a driving rampage, Kappler rammed another car, stole it, and used it as a lethal weapon. Yet, incredibly, his fellow doctors bailed him out of jail, and he was soon back on the job. Desperate to satisfy his lust for killing, Kappler plunged a patient into cardiac arrest. Next, he pulled the plug on an unconscious man. Finally, he exploded in a terrifying rage of violence and murder. Pressing the accelerator of his car to the floor, he cut down a promising young doctor and seconds later maimed a toddler's mom for life. In Without Mercy, Keith Ablow examines Kappler's many crimes, his eventual murder trial, and his unsuccessful insanity defense.