Final words of woman in suicide pod revealed as clinic hits back at 'strangulation' claim

On September 23 the first user of the Sarco suicide pod climbed into the device and pushed a button, causing the chamber to flood with nitrogen and suffocating her to death, inventors say

Claims that the first person to use a so-called suicide pod could have been a victim of “intentional homicide” have been blasted as “ridiculous and absurd” by the machine’s inventors.

On September 23 the first user of the Sarco suicide pod, 64-year-old American woman, climbed into the device, which had been set up in a woodland in Switzerland, and pushed a button causing the chamber to flood with nitrogen, suffocating her to death, the machine’s creators say.

The Last Resort and Exit International, the organisations behind Sarco, say they have footage from cameras inside and outside the pod, showing the woman chose to die and that the pod “worked precisely as planned and the user died peacefully from nitrogen hypoxia.”

However Dr Florian Willet, president of The Last Resort, the only person present at the time of the woman’s death, was arrested by police at the scene and has remained in custody for five weeks as investigators look into the circumstances surrounding the first use of the pod.

Schaffhausen Chief Prosecutor Peter Sticher has cited a conversation he had with a forensic doctor, who also arrived at the scene along with police, allegedly claiming that the woman had severe injuries to her neck. Mr Sticher has used his “suspicion” of “intentional homicide” to get a judge to extend Dr Willet’s time in custody while investigations are carried out, Dutch newspaper de Volksrant reported.

However, no autopsy report has yet been released by authorities to support the claims of strangulation. Meanwhile Dr Willet and The Last Resort say the results have “been kept hidden” from them and their lawyers, the Mail reports.

The mother-of-two recorded a four-minute statement to The Last Resort confirming she wished to and her life, according to Volksrant. According to the Last Resort had been diagnosed with skull base osteomyelitis, which gave her excruciating headaches which left her unable to move. She could not be treated properly for the condition due to an immune disorder, The Last Resort said.

Skull base osteomyelitis could manifest as a bone marrow infection which might have caused the marks on her neck which Sticher suspected to be from strangulation, a source close to The Last Resort told Swiss outlet NZZ.

Willet and two lawyers were at the woodland with a Volkskrant photographer who documented the woman arriving before leaving and returning after her death. Willet was the only person present at time of her death, and was on a video call to Germany with his associate Dr Philip Nitschke, the inventor of Sarco, throughout.

They alerted the police who arrived with forensics teams hours later. All four were arrested on of suspicion of inciting suicide and providing suicide assistance. The two lawyers and the Dutch photographer were released after 48 hours.

Willet and Nitschke maintain the woman after she entered the capsule “unaided” and pressed the button to trigger the process that caused her to die from hypoxia. In film captured of the incident, Volksrant reported the woman, who had wanted to die for "at least two years" while she had been suffering with a "very serious illness that involves severe pain," can be seen climbing into the pod and closing the lid.

She spoke remotely to Wilet, saying "Ready?" according to the newspaper, he confirmed he was before she responded "Okay" in what would be her final words.

Assisted suicide is allowed under Swiss law, as long as the person dying gets no “external assistance” and those helping the person die do not have “and self-serving motive”. However Swiss Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider told the National Council that she considered the use of the Sarco in Switzerland to be illegal - citing product safety laws and laws surrounding proper use of nitrogen.

Fiona Stewart, a board member at The Last Resort, said: “The use of the Sarco is free,” adding “we don't want to make any money from this.” The firm has said it wants to make assisted dying almost completely free of charge. Currently most Swiss clinics charge around £10,000.

The Last Resort have said there are around 120 applicants who hope to use the machine to end their lives, with around a quarter of them said to be from Britain.