The man behind the so-called ‘suicide pod’ has spoken out, rejecting claims that the US woman who was the first to die using the device may have actually been strangled.
Dr. Philip Nitschke, an Exit International right-to-die advocate and trained physician, said on Wednesday that although he did not attend the woman’s death on September 23 in Switzerland, he witnessed it live via video transmission.
He added that the device worked as planned the first and only time it was used.
This photo shows Sarko’s suicide chamber, during a media event organized by “Last Resort”, a Swiss human rights non-profit focusing on medically assisted suicide, in Zurich on July 17, 2024. Sarko’s 3D-printed coffin, which resembles a coffin, is a suicide machine, which can be activated from It is entered by the person who intends to die, by filling the capsule with nitrogen, which leads to the death of the resident due to lack of oxygen.
Arend Wegman/AFP via Getty Images
The “sarco” (short for coffin) chamber had been in the works for years, but until September had never been used.
News of the capsule’s use first made headlines around the world in September, when several people were arrested and a criminal case was opened in connection with its use.
Chairman of a Swiss subsidiary International checkout Florian Willet, known as Last Resort, was present at the woman’s death and was immediately taken into police custody, where he remains while police investigate the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death.
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Others who were initially detained were later released, including a journalist working for the Volkskrant newspaper in the Netherlands, where Nitschke lives.
In an interview this week with the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Nitschke said: She felt compelled To speak out and help Willett’s plight.
He told the outlet that the woman who died was suffering from a “very serious illness that involves extreme pain” and had wanted to die “for at least two years.”
The woman chose a location in the woods to die and “almost immediately pressed the button” for it, Nitschke said Ending her own life After entering the capsule.
On October 26, De Volkskrant reported that the Swiss prosecutor had indicated this in court The woman may have been strangled. De Volkskrant said last month that one of its photographers, two lawyers and Willett were originally arrested on suspicion of inciting suicide and offering assistance in doing so.
“It’s ridiculous, because we have film that indicates the capsule was not opened,” Nitschke said. “Everything happened exactly as we expected. The woman climbed into the Sarco on her own, closed the lid without assistance and pressed the button that released the nitrogen herself. She lost consciousness and He died about six minutes later“.
He added that Willett was carrying a cell phone on which Nitschke watched a live video of the woman using the Sarco, and immediately afterwards reported her death to police.
Nitschke recalled speaking to Willett on the phone at the time, saying, “I was listening and answering his questions and calming him down because it was a very stressful time for him.”
Sarco capsules allow a person to control their own death within the capsule by rapidly reducing internal oxygen levels. The person intending to end his life is asked to answer a set of pre-recorded questions, then press a button that floods the interior with nitrogen. The oxygen level inside quickly drops from 21% to 1%, and the person should fall asleep and die of suffocation within minutes.
After death, the capsule can be used as a coffin, although the Swiss police confiscated the capsule in this case.
Fiona Stewart, advisory board member and chief operating officer of The Last Resort, a Swiss human rights non-profit focusing on medically assisted suicide, presents the Sarco suicide capsule in Zurich on July 17, 2024.
Arend Wegman/AFP via Getty Images
Swiss law allows medically assisted suicide as long as the person commits suicide without “external assistance,” and those who help a person die do not do so for “any self-serving motive,” according to a government website.
Currently, medically assisted suicide in Switzerland means swallowing a capsule filled with a mixture of controlled substances, which puts the person in a deep coma before they die.
— With files from The Associated Press
If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of emergency, please call 911 for immediate assistance.
For immediate mental health support, call 988. For a directory of support services in your area, visit Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention On suicideprevention.ca.
Learn more about Prevent suicide with these warning signs and tips on how to help.
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