‘Homicide’: Shock twist in suicide pod death

Prosecutors in Switzerland are investigating whether a woman who died in an Australia designed suicide pod last month, was a homicide victim.

A woman, who just weeks ago became the first person to die in a futuristic Australian designed suicide pod, “may have been strangled,” prosecutors have claimed.

The stunning development comes as one of the people behind the controversial Sarco machine – dubbed the “Tesla of euthanasia” – has remained in a Swiss jail since the death occurred.

The company behind the device said there was “no proof” of any “selfish motives”.

The Sarco pod, conceived by Australian doctor Philip Nitschke, is flooded with nitrogen dramatically dropping oxygen levels, which it’s claimed facilitates a pain-free death.

A 64-year-old woman from the US died on September 23 in the pod, which allows the person who is intending to end their life to control the entire process themselves.

She was suffering from skull base osteomyelitis, a rare and life threatening condition that can led to severe headaches, facial pain and hearing loss. Due to an immune disorder, it has been claimed the woman could not be properly treated.

The death took place in a forested area near the town of Merishuasen, in northern Switzerland’s Schaffhausen canton, close to the German border.

Euthanasia is legal in Switzerland but the Sarco pod is a new instrument for someone to end their life.

The public prosecutor in Schaffuasen reportedly told The Last Resort, an assisted dying organisation, not to use the Sarco.

“We warned them in writing,” prosecutor Peter Sticher said in September, according to the Daily Mail.

“We said that if they came to Schaffhausen and used Sarco, they would face criminal consequences.”

The Sarco machine in the Swiss wood which was later used by a 64-year-old American woman. (Photo by Handout / THE LAST RESORT / AFP).

The Last Resort said the woman died “almost immediately”. She has not been identified nor pictured.

“It was clear that she wanted this,” said German scientist and president of The Last Resort, Dr Florian Willet.

But Swiss police, who were called to the scene, arrested Dr Willet who was the only person to remain through the entire procedure. Two lawyers and a photographer who arrived at the scene after the woman had died were also arrested.

It’s understood police arrested the four for suspected of inciting suicide and providing suicide assistance.

While Dr Nitschke did visit the pod, he and others left the scene prior to the woman’s death, crossed the border into Germany and have not arrested.

Dutch newspaper De Volksrant has said while everyone else arrested was allowed to leave prison after 48 hours, Dr Willet has now been in solitary confinement for five weeks and can only communicate with his lawyer.

The paper has also revealed that Swiss police are investigating whether the woman’s death was a case of “vorsätzliche Tötung” which translates as intentional homicide.

While it is regular for Swiss authorities to undertake a criminal investigation after an assisted suicide, a suspicion of intentional homicide appears to be a step beyond that.

Australian Dr Philip Nitschke conceived the Sarco machine. Picture: Jerad Williams

‘Severe injuries to the neck’

Under Swiss law, intentional homicide is classified as the intentional behaviour of a person that causes the death of another.

It can lead up to five years in prison.

De Volksrant has said local chief prosecutor Peter Sticher has suggested the 64-year-old may have been strangled.

“Documents show that this is based on a ‘phone note’ from September 23, a few hours after the woman’s death,” the newspaper stated.

“During that conversation, the prosecution heard from the forensic doctor that the woman had, among other things, severe injuries to her neck.”

It’s that suspicion which has led to Dr Willet to remain behind bars.

But the public prosecutor’s suspicions are still surrounded in “vagueness and mystery,” De Volksrant has reported.

An official autopsy report has not been produced, for instance. Dr Willet has not been charged.

According to reports in Swiss news outlet NZZ, a person close to The Last Resort said there is a possibility skull base osteomyelitis could manifest as an infection of bone marrow that may have led to marks on the woman that appear similar to strangulation marks.

The death happened in the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen, right on the border of Germany.

Cameras

Several cameras were set up in the wooded area to record aspects of the women’s death. They were movement activated and so at times would turn off, meaning there are gaps in the filming of the process.

One camera was focused on the exterior of the Sarco and another on the button the woman had to push to start the deadly flow of nitrogen once inside the capsule.

The paper said that while it found no evidence of tampering with the cameras, that also couldn’t be ruled out.

The only person who remained by the pod while the woman died was Dr Willet.

The exterior camera picked up a conversation between the woman and Dr Willet prior to her entering the pod. She then enters and adjusted a pillow for her head.

The Sarco suicide pod invented by Dr Philip Nitschke, founder of Exit International. Pic: Dr Philip Nitschke.

‘She looks really dead’

She declined an offer from Dr Willet to speak to Dr Nitschke, who by this time was in Germany and on the phone. According to the newspaper, the woman can be heard asking if Dr Willet is “ready” and when he confirms he is, she replied “okay”.

The internal camera doesn’t show her face but her hair can be seen close to the button.

At 3.54pm she pressed the button and took a deep breath. This filled the pod with a cloud of nitrogen gas.

“Keep on breathing,” Dr Willet is heard saying outside as the oxygen levels drop.

The external cameras shows the woman’s chest rising and falling. Dr Willet told police she lost consciousness in about 30 seconds.

Around two minutes into the procedure, the action activated camera within the pod sprung back on, on two occasions in quick succession.

“Due to the position of the internal camera, it is not exactly clear what happens,” the paper said.

“On the external camera, it is visible that precisely during this time span, a dark spot suddenly appears on the inside of the fogged-up window, at the height of her knees.

“This may be the effect of a body part touching the window,” reported the paper.

Dr Willet reportedly later told police that while unconscious and alive the woman could have had a body cramp and that was a reaction in deaths by nitrogen.

At 4.01pm, around five minutes after the woman pressed the button, an alarm goes off, which could be the heart rate monitor.

“She’s still alive, Philip (Nitschke),” the paper reported Dr Willet as saying on the phone adding that he “seemed confused” by the sound.

A few minutes later, Dr Willet told Dr Nitschke: “She looks really dead”.

The newspaper said at no point did the cameras pick up footage of the pod being opened until detectives turned up hours later and arrested those at the scene.

“My guess is that she lost consciousness within two minutes and that she died after five minutes,” said Dr Nitschke afterwards.

“We saw sudden, small contractions and movements of the muscles in her arms, but she was probably already unconscious by then.”

The Last Resort said in a statement that the woman “acted voluntarily and she did the action that brought about her death by herself”.

“There were no selfish motives (no fees were charged, no one obtained a personal benefit etc.). There exists proof for all of this.

“Before the use of the Sarco, extensive legal advice over a period of years had been taken”.

Originally published as ‘Homicide’: Shock twist in suicide pod death