A death, a plagiarism scandal and a quest for revenge: the tale of Otto Z

A Munich-based retired doctor known as Otto Z cared for his elderly mother, Doria, until she died at home in June 2020. Police and a coroner from the Munich Institute of Forensic Medicine quickly treated the death as suspicious, removing the body and briefly detaining Otto; he was later cleared and the investigation dropped in January 2021. Grieving and scrutinizing the toxicology report, Otto - who holds two PhDs in medicine and chemistry - noticed anomalous findings: traces of colchicine, a poison from autumn crocus, and chemical markers associated with cold exposure. Convinced the mortuary’s handling was improper and that his mother might have died in the institute’s care, he repeatedly sought answers from Prof Matthias Graw, the institute director who led the autopsy, and offered to co-author a paper; his queries were ignored.

Otto then conducted his own research and found a decisive detail: large portions of Graw’s doctoral dissertation matched a 1982 book chapter on colchicine nearly word for word, suggesting plagiarism. Interpreting that discovery as evidence of professional malpractice and possible motive, Otto rejected involving police and instead began a private campaign to expose Graw, even reaching out to outside contacts to press the case. The narrative links a bereaved son’s forensic sleuthing to a scandal over scientific fraud and a brewing, personal quest for revenge.