The unfolding investigation into the death of a 64-year-old American woman in Switzerland has taken a dark turn, as Swiss authorities are now examining whether the incident was an intentional homicide rather than the assisted suicide it initially appeared to be.
The woman, whose name has not been released, was thought to have used a “Sarco” pod—a controversial device intended to facilitate assisted suicide by introducing nitrogen gas into a sealed chamber, allowing users to end their lives “peacefully.” However, disturbing new evidence has emerged suggesting that the woman may not have died as intended, casting suspicion on the role of the company overseeing the pod, The Last Resort.
The incident occurred on September 23 in Merishausen, Switzerland, where the woman was reportedly alone with Florian Willet, the co-president of The Last Resort. Willet, currently detained by Swiss authorities, was the only person physically present, with Sarco inventor Philip Nitschke allegedly monitoring the process via video link. According to the prosecution, the victim suffered severe neck injuries inconsistent with the expected effects of nitrogen inhalation, raising red flags about the nature of her death.
The first person to use the controversial Sarco suicide pod in Switzerland last month may have been strangled, prosecutors have suggested, as an investigation into her death continues. https://t.co/oohGG4qXE0
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) October 29, 2024
Adding fuel to the investigation, reports indicate that Willet made a troubling statement during the process, telling Nitschke over the video call, “She’s still alive, Philip.” This comment came more than six minutes after the woman had supposedly activated the Sarco pod, leaving lingering questions about why she wasn’t deceased and whether she could have been harmed in another way.
Willet’s actions during the procedure are now under scrutiny, with reports that he was frequently leaning over the Sarco pod, possibly in response to an alarm that might have been monitoring the woman’s heart rate. This has raised concerns that the device’s malfunction may have played a role or that Willet took additional actions.
if this was a movie, I don’t think it’d be believablehttps://t.co/mPSHMVvYpV pic.twitter.com/DcGb1re9u9
— Ryan McEntush (@rmcentush) October 29, 2024
Although Last Resort has insisted that its process is legal and user-controlled, the Swiss government disagrees. Swiss Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider previously clarified that the use of the Sarco device is not sanctioned by law, and legal standards governing assisted suicide in Switzerland typically require direct medical oversight and confirmation of the user’s mental capacity. The Last Resort claims that it conducts mental capacity assessments before any procedure, though the specifics of this verification process remain unclear.
The investigation has led to multiple arrests, with most of those detained subsequently released, leaving Willet as the only individual still in custody. As Swiss prosecutors dig deeper, the case is putting the spotlight on the ethics and legality of assisted suicide technology and the responsibility of those overseeing its use. Whether this incident results in new legal boundaries around assisted suicide devices remains to be seen, but it has undoubtedly sparked serious concerns and international attention on what is an already controversial and ethically fraught field.
