Assisted suicide org denies allegations of intentional homicide

Image Credit: Wikimedia commons CC BY 2.0

It has been alleged that the first person to die using the Sarco “suicide pod” in Switzerland was “found with strangulation marks” on her neck – prompting an assisted suicide organisation to deny allegations of intentional homicide. 

Authorities in Switzerland are exploring the possibility of “intentional homicide” following the woman’s death, according to Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant. This comes after a forensic doctor who attended the scene told a recent court hearing that the woman had “severe injuries” to her neck.

The deceased was helped by a recently formed Swiss organisation, The Last Resort, which advocates to allow assisted suicide and is headed by Dr Florian Willet, a former spokesperson for Dignitas in Germany. Last Report have released a statement stating “the allegations of intentional homicide are ridiculous and absurd.”

Last Resort also stated that “Without the full autopsy report, The Last Resort cannot comment on the ‘suspicion’ of ‘injuries’ on the neck of the first Sarco user.”

The woman, a 64-year-old American mother of two, died inside the capsule on 23 September in the middle of a secluded forest near the quiet village of Merishausen, Switzerland, close to the German border. It is the first-ever reported death inside the capsule, which is purposely designed for assisted suicide and made international headlines when it emerged.

The Sarco pod was intended to allow a “peaceful and controlled end-of-life experience for terminally ill patients.” Users activate the pod by pressing an internal button, releasing nitrogen gas, which the designers claim induces a calm, pain-free death within minutes.

The creator of the pod, Philip Nitschke – founder of Exit International – told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying in Dublin last year that such devices have “a proper and useful place” in the discussion on introducing assisted suicide in Ireland, causing concern among some. The machine, which was created in 2017 and unveiled publicly in 2021, is mounted on a stand, and contains a canister of liquid nitrogen so that users die by suicide through gas asphyxiation.

This is used in conjunction with an inert gas – nitrogen – which lowers oxygen level rapidly inside the pods, meaning the user dies of suffocation. The name “Sarco” derives from “sarcophagus” – a stone coffin or a container to hold a coffin. The machine was found not to be in breach of any laws in Switzerland, where assisted suicide has been allowed in law since 1942.

The pod has been met with pushback with some accusing inventor Nitschke of “glamorising” suicide, describing the pod, which releases a fatal dose of nitrogen, as “a glorified gas chamber”.

‘SHE’S STILL ALIVE’

According to Swiss media, the president of The Last Resort, Dr Florian Willet, who was standing beside the woman throughout the event, was heard to tell the pod’s designer over video call: “She’s still alive, Philip.” That came six-and-a-half minutes after the user pressed the button to end her own life. 

Willet insists that the woman’s death was “peaceful, fast and dignified”.

Willet remains in police custody after being arrested on location, and Dutch media reports that he was the only person present when the woman died. Mr Nitschke followed the suicide process by video call.

De Volkskrant reports that the video call suggests that the pod was opened and closed several times before the woman pressed the button which triggers the procedure, to test its closure. 

It was claimed that surveillance footage captured by two cameras – one inside the pod, trained on the control button, and another positioned on a nearby tree – revealed “unusual activity.”

De Volkskrant, which reviewed the footage, said that the internal camera was triggered twice in quick succession shortly after the woman pressed the button. However, because of the angle, the recording does not clearly show what happened during those crucial moments.

Last Resort have said that “there is continuous video footage of the Sarco from the time the woman entered the capsule until the time the police were called after her death…There was NO interference or entry to the capsule.”

ASSISTED SUICIDE ORG RELEASES STATEMENT

In a statement, The Last Resort said that without the full autopsy report into the woman’s death, it could not comment on the ‘suspicion’ of ‘injuries’ on the neck of the first Sarco user.

“The Schaffhausen prosecutor has been reported in past media stating that the autopsy was conducted on 23 September 2024,” the organisation said.

“Five weeks later, the autopsy report has been kept hidden, including from the lawyers for The Last Resort and Exit International and persons involved.” it claimed.

“The Last Resort and Exit International maintain that the Sarco worked precisely as planned and the user died peacefully from nitrogen hypoxia.”

“The allegations of intentional homicide are ridiculous and absurd. The Last Resort and Exit International strongly reject these allegations,” it said, claiming that continuous film footage from two cameras (one internal to the Sarco and one external) showed that the woman entered the Sarco “unaided” at 3:50pm that day.

The organisation said that at 3:54pm, the deceased closed the lid of the Sarco unaided, and 40 seconds later, pressed the internal activation button herself. 36 minutes later, the police were contacted to report the death.

The group claimed that there is “continuous video footage of the Sarco from the time the woman entered the capsule until the time the police were called after her death,” adding: “There was NO interference or entry to the capsule.”

“Furthermore, the oxygen concentration was recorded and can be shown to have dropped sharply on activation and to have remained at lethal levels until well after the woman had died,” it said.

It is understood the woman wanted to end her life due to a long-standing disease, having been diagnosed with skull base osteomyelitis, an infection of the bone marrow. Due to an immune disorder, the woman was unable to receive effective treatment for her osteomyelitis, The Last Resort claimed.

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

The Last Resort said it had “confidence in the Swiss criminal justice system and the rule of law,” and that it welcomed a “transparent and timely investigation and outcome.”

The group further said that at the beginning of October, Dr Philip Nitschke and Dr Fiona Stewart offered to come to Switzerland to be interviewed, but “this offer was rejected by the Schaffhausen prosecutor.”

Willet is yet to be released, and a criminal investigation continues. All 371 active applications to use the machine have been suspended for use.

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Maria Maynes

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This article first appeared on Gript and is printed here with permission.