First woman to die in ‘suicide pod’ appeared to have been strangled, prosecutor claims after ‘Last Resort’ boss arrested

THE first woman to die inside the banned “suicide pod” was allegedly found with strangulation marks on her neck, according to a prosecutor.

The anonymous woman, 64 and identified as an American citizen, died last month inside the controversial capsule set up in a forest in Switzerland.

AFP

A handout picture taken on the morning of September 23 shows the Sarco pod at the location where it was allegedly used by the 64-year-old American woman to end her life[/caption]

EPA

A general view of the officially sealed forest hut associated with the first use of the death capsule ‘Sarco’ by the assisted dying group The Last Resort[/caption]

AP

The Sarco’s inventor Philip Nitschke Philip Nitschke enters the pod in a demonstration[/caption]

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Florian Willet, president of The Last Resort which focuses on assisted suicides[/caption]

The Sacro capsule, first unveiled in 2019, is a portable, human-sized pod which replaces the oxygen inside it with nitrogen, causing death by hypoxia.

It is self-operated by a button on the inside, providing death without medical supervision.

The woman is said to have initiated the dying process herself by pressing a button while lying in the Sacro pod in the middle of the forest.

However, a forensic expert who checked her body shortly after she died found injuries near her neck that appeared similar to strangulation marks.

The American woman was reportedly terminally ill and had been dying for two years.

According to the Dutch media, she was diagnosed with Osteomyelitis – a disease that could have manifested those alleged injury marks on her neck.

It is a rare condition that happens when bacteria or fungi infect your bone marrow.

Infections usually start on your skin at a wound or surgery site and then spread to your bones through your bloodstream.

In most cases, the potentially fatal condition can cause permanent bone damage.

The woman is said to have travelled to Switzerland specifically to use the suicide capsule, local media reported at the time of death.

But her death has now raised a host of legal and ethical questions in Switzerland, where active euthanasia is banned but assisted dying has been legal for decades.

Police in the northern Schaffhausen canton said the capsule had been used at a forest hut, after which several people were taken into custody — and are now facing criminal proceedings.

This includes Dr Florian Willet, the president of The Last Resort organisation – an assisted dying group which presented the Sarco pod in Zurich in July.

He is said to be the only person present during the time of the woman’s death.

Cops said in a statement: “The public prosecutor’s office of the canton of Schaffhausen has opened criminal proceedings against several people for inducement and aiding and abetting suicide… and several people have been placed in police custody.”

Peter Sticher, a chief prosecutor investigating the death of the woman, has now raised suspicions of “international homicide” after suggesting she was strangled to death.

He has now demanded a court order to extend Willet’s custody.

However, there is no official autopsy report to support the claim – and Sticheris has not yet publicly accused Last Resort’s boss of “intentional homicide”.

Sarco’s inventor Philip Nitschke, a vocal supporter of assisted suicide and who followed the American woman’s death via video feed, said the dying process was “well”.

He told de Volkskrant: “When she entered the Sarco, she almost immediately pressed the button. She didn’t say anything. She really wanted to die.

“I estimate that she lost consciousness within 2 minutes and that she died after five minutes.

“We saw jerky, small twitches of the muscles in her arms, but she was probably already unconscious by then. It looked exactly how we expected it to look.”

AFP

Florian Willet and Australian euthanasia activist Philip Nitschke address a press conference to present the Sarco in Zurich on July 17, 2024[/caption]

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Fiona Stewart, co-president of the Last Resort organization, stands beside the death capsule ‘Sarco’[/caption]

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A police cordon lies on the forest floor in connection with the first use of the death capsule Sarco by assisted dying group The Last Resort, in Merishausen, Switzerland, September 25, 2024[/caption]

Cops swooped the forest after being notified by a legal firm that an assisted suicide with the device had taken place. 

Sticher said Sarco’s creators had been warned not to use the device in the region.

He added: “We warned them in writing. We said they would face criminal consequences if they came to Schaffhausen and used Sarco.”

However, Nitschke and Stewart claim that the company was acting at all times on the advice of their lawyers.

The prosecutor rushed to the crime scene with a large group of cops and forensics experts.

Together they arrested two lawyers providing legal assistance to the organisation and a Dutch journalist alongside Willet.

Sticher said the arrests were made to make sure “they were not colluding with each other or covering up evidence”.

They were told they were being suspected of “inciting suicide” and providing suicide assistance. 

However, everyone but Willet was released after 48 hours. 

The Last Resort claims the woman’s death had been “peaceful, fast and dignified”.

Nitschke said in a statement that his device “had performed exactly as it had been designed to do”.

But Switzerland’s interior minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider said the controversial suicide pod is not compliant with Swiss law.

“Firstly, it does not meet the requirements of product safety law and therefore cannot be placed on the market,” she added.

“Secondly, the corresponding use of nitrogen is not compatible with the purpose article of the Chemicals Act.”

To use the Sarco, the person wishing to die must first pass a psychiatric assessment.

The person climbs into the purple capsule, closes the lid, and is asked automated questions such as who they are, where they are and if they know what happens when they press the button.

The Sarco pod is then filled with nitrogen gas.

Many pro-life groups have warned the pods, made by a 3D printer, “glamourise suicide”.

James Mildren, Director of engagement pro-life group CARE, said: “Philip Nitschke’s device has been condemned by a broad range of commentators. 

“Many people feel that it trivialises, and even glamourises suicide. 

“We believe that suicide is a tragedy that good societies seek to prevent in every circumstance.

“There are ethical ways to help human beings that don’t involve the destruction of life.”

Around 1,250 people ended their lives using assisted suicide in Switzerland last year.

Both assisted suicide and euthanasia are illegal in the UK.

For anyone struggling to cope, call Samaritans for free on 116 123 or contact other sources of support, such as those listed on the NHS’s help for suicidal thoughts webpage.