'Suicide pod' creator breaks silence over 'exactly what happened' during first death using device
The creator of the Sarco pod, a device designed to allow the occupant to take their own life, has spoken out after it was used for the first time in Switzerland and controversy followed.
A 64-year-old American woman used the 'suicide pod' on 23 September to end her life in Switzerland, and her death was described as 'peaceful, fast and dignified' by Dr Florian Willet who was the only other person on the scene.
He has since been taken into custody by police, where he remains weeks later, while Dutch media outlet de Volksrant reported that a court has heard a 'phone note' from a forensic doctor suggesting that the woman had injuries to her neck.
The same outlet reported that the woman who used the Sarco pod said she'd considered suicide 'for at least two years' after being diagnosed with skull base osteomyelitis.
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She said that nobody had convinced her to take her own life, and that she had previously tried to end her life with the Swiss group Pegasos.
Speaking on a podcast to discuss the first use of the Sarco pod, the device's creator Dr Philip Nitschke said 'the machine did exactly what it was supposed to do'.
While he was not present at the scene himself, Dr Nitschke said he was 'watching' via a video feed and thus knew what had happened.
He said: "She entered the capsule unassisted, she pressed the button when she was ready. The oxygen level dropped, we've got documentation for all of this.
"She lost consciousness within, we estimate, two minutes and died in about six minutes."
However, he went on to speak out about what has happened since then, saying 'we were not expecting the things that have followed since that time and that's caused us a good deal of concern'.
"Florian should be released immediately, clearly he did not have anything to do with her death other than allowing her to come along, climb in and press the button which she did by herself," Dr Nitschke said of his colleague, the only person present at the scene to witness the death.
"She organised and carried out effectively her own death. This was a suicide, the only assistance was Florian being present."
As for the comments about neck injuries and the allegations that all did not go as they described which followed, the Sarco pod creator described them as a 'ludicrous suggestion'.
He said: "I gather there was some sort of phone call made from the autopsy.
"When her body was taken for autopsy there was suggestion of a phone call made from the person involved in the autopsy suggesting that there may have been some external force or trauma, suggesting there may have been injury to the neck.
"That's all very interesting, it was based on a phone call. There's been no autopsy report, I'm well aware of the need to have a proper report before you start jumping at shadows.
"We heard about these injuries and thought 'that's a bit odd' because I know exactly what happened to that woman, I was watching.
"She climbed in unassisted, the capsule was not opened and the police were rung. If there was any external injury it must have been done after the police turned up and opened the capsule, we've got film of that happening.
"She died of hypoxia as expected, she died in six minutes as expected."
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Topics: World News, Health
Joe Harker