A right-to-die activist who was arrested over the first reported use of a “suicide pod” has died by assisted suicide, according to the device’s inventor.
Dr Florian Willet, 47, was arrested last year in connection with the death of a 64-year-old woman. Investigators had detained him on suspicion of “inciting and abetting suicide” and a “strong suspicion of the commission of an intentional homicide”.
However, after two months in custody, he was released that December after police ruled out the possibility of an intentional homicide.
Exit International director Dr Philip Nitschke, the creator of the Sarco pod, said the accusations caused serious psychological problems for Dr Willet.
Dr Nitschke told Dutch news outlet Volkskrant that Dr Willet died last month by suicide.
“When Florian was released suddenly and unexpectedly from pre-trial detention in early December 2024, he was a changed man,” Dr Nitschke said.
“Gone was his warm smile and self-confidence. In its place was a man who seemed deeply traumatised by the experience of incarceration and the wrongful accusation of strangulation.”
The activist’s friend, Laura, also told the Dutch outlet that he had changed after the detention. “This friendly, positive man had changed into an anxious, suspicious person who no longer trusted even his best friends,” she said. “He lived in his own world. He became increasingly distant from his friends.”
Dr Willet, who was head of euthanasia advocacy group The Last Resort, was released by authorities after the apparent first use of the Sarco suicide pod, a sealed chamber that releases gas at the press of a button.
While authorities no longer suspected intentional homicide, a “strong suspicion of the crime of inciting and abetting suicide” remained, a statement from Swiss prosecutors said.
Dr Nitschke said the allegations that the woman might have been strangled were “absurd”. He added that he watched the woman’s death via video and that the device worked as planned.
The Sarco is designed to allow a person sitting in its reclining seat to push a button that releases nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber. The person is then supposed to fall unconscious and die by suffocation in a few minutes.
Swiss law allows assisted suicide so long as the person takes his or her life with no “external assistance” and those who help the person die do not do so for “any self-serving motive”, says a government website.
While active euthanasia of someone else is illegal, supplying the means of dying is legal as long as the person administers it themselves.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you
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