‘She’s still alive’: First user of Sarco suicide pod ‘found with strangulation marks’…

October 29, 2024, 12:16 pm | Updated: October 29, 2024, 12:40

The first person to use a controversial suicide pod dubbed the “Tesla of euthanasia” was found inside with strangulation marks around his neck.

The CEO of operator Sarco The Last Resort, Dr. Florian Willet, remains in custody after being arrested along with several others at the scene. Willet was the only person present when the woman died.

Sarco’s inventor, Philip Nitschke, followed the process via video call. Due to technical reasons, he could only follow part of the process.

The 64-year-old American died on September 23 in a pod in the middle of the forest near a cottage in Merishhausen, Switzerland.

The capsule, which has never been used before, allows a person inside the device to press a button that injects nitrogen into a sealed chamber.

The person inside should then fall asleep before they die of suffocation.

Willet remains in police custody in Switzerland almost five weeks after the incident. He was the only person present when the mother-of-two died and described her death as “peaceful, quick and dignified”.

Read more: Sarco suicide capsule ‘used for first time’ in arrest of police personnel after American woman killed in machine

Read more: Mother took her own life in a Swiss suicide clinic ‘to punish her husband for gaining custody of the children’

The lead Swiss prosecutor in the case, Peter Sticher, believes the death could have turned out very differently, raising suspicions that the woman may have been strangled in a “deliberate killing”, reports the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant.

The newspaper reports that the capsule is opened and closed several times before the woman presses a button to start the procedure to check its closure.

A medical examiner at the scene told the court that the woman had, among other things, serious neck injuries.

According to the daily, the company’s president, who stood next to the woman throughout the event, could be heard telling the capsule’s designer via video call: “Filip, she’s still alive.”

The comments appeared six and a half minutes after the user pressed the button to end his own life.

The president is said to have been disoriented by the sound of an alarm – possibly a heart rate monitor. The court heard how he continued to lean over the Sarco pod to look inside before the alarm went off.

According to the company, the woman decided to take her own life using Sarco due to a long-term illness. She was diagnosed with osteomyelitis of the skull base – an infection of the bone marrow.

She said she wanted to die “for at least two years” after suffering from a “very serious illness with severe pain”.

As revealed by The Last Resort, due to immune system disorders, the woman could not receive effective treatment for osteomyelitis.

After being informed of her death by two lawyers involved in the project and present at the scene, police combed the forest and arrested everyone near Sarco, including the Volkskrant photographer.

In September, chief prosecutor Sticher told Swiss newspaper Blick: “We warned them in writing, we said that if they came to Schaffhausen and used Sarco, they would face criminal consequences.”

All those arrested have since been released, except Willet. Volkskrant questions why Sticher did not publicly accuse Willet of “intentional murder,” but uses this suspicion to persuade judges to extend Willet’s detention.

A criminal investigation into the pod is ongoing and all of the 371 active apps have been suspended.

People who feel depressed or have suicidal thoughts can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in Great Britain. In the US, call your local Samaritans branch or 1 (800) 273-TALK