The lead prosecutor in the case of the woman who used a Sarco suicide capsule in Switzerland suggests that “intentional murder” is involved.

The American was the first to use the “Tesla of euthanasia”, which works by releasing nitrogen into the capsule after pressing a button from the inside.

The passenger of the capsule then falls asleep and dies of suffocation a few minutes later.

The woman died under a tree canopy in northern Switzerland in what The Last Resort CEO Dr. Florian Willet said was a “peaceful, quick and dignified” death.

When Swiss police learned of the use of the capsule, they arrived at the scene to find the body of a woman in the capsule and arrested several people, including Dr. Willet.

He was the only person at the scene of the woman’s death and remains in custody about five weeks after the death of the 64-year-old American woman.

An investigation into the incident is currently ongoing, with lead prosecutor Peter Sticher suspecting “intentional murder” based on a court suggestion that the woman may have been strangled, Dutch daily de Volkskrant reported.

The woman suffered, among other things, serious neck injuries, as the prosecutor’s office was informed by the forensic doctor a few hours after her death.

However, Dr. Willet’s lawyers have not yet reviewed the official autopsy report.

Surveillance cameras were set up to record the woman’s death. One was installed inside the pod and pointed at the control button, and the other was mounted on a tree outside.

They were activated by movement and did not record continuously.

De Volkskrant, in possession of the footage, described the notable event two minutes after the woman pressed the button inside the Sarco.

The interior camera was reported to have turned on twice in a row, although it is unclear what exactly happened due to the location of the camera.

Dr. Willet reportedly told police that the woman’s body seemed to experience severe contractions for about two and a half minutes while she was unconscious, claiming this was a reaction that occurs when someone dies under the influence of nitrogen.

About six and a half minutes after the woman pressed the button, Sarco’s iPad emitted a piercing alarm.

Dr. Willet, who was reportedly on the phone with the capsule’s creator, Dr. Philip Nitschke, appeared confused by the sound and said, “Philip, she’s still alive.”

After a while, the sound stopped, and half an hour after pressing the button, he confirmed: “she really looks dead.”

Regardless of whether it was homicide, Swiss law prohibits assisted suicide if a person takes their own life with “external assistance” and if those helping them do so “for any selfish reason.”

Fiona Stewart, a board member of The Last Resort and Dr. Nitschke’s wife, said use of the Sarco pod is free.

“We don’t want to make money on this,” she said, adding that the woman did incur additional costs, such as cremation fees.

The American woman who used the capsule had been suffering for at least two years from a disease called osteomyelitis of the skull base – a rare and life-threatening infection for which she could not be properly treated due to her immune system condition.

Dr. Nitschke said the woman pressed the button “almost immediately” after entering the capsule.

“She didn’t say anything. She really wanted to die. I estimate she lost consciousness within two minutes and died after five minutes,” he told Dutch media.