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Daily Mail
20 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
She'd endured every mother's worst nightmare, but was it a poisonous feud with the 'village witches' over her craft shop that drove a healthy Brit, 65, to end her life in a Swiss suicide clinic?
She smiled sweetly in pastel cardigans, chatting gently about yarn weights and showing off her stitched creations. But when crochet queen Amanda Machin revealed she had checked herself into a Swiss suicide clinic, what unravelled was more knotted than the trickiest tangle of thread. The 65-year-old - known to her 50,000 online followers as crafting influencer Amanda Bloom - recorded an emotional farewell before signing out at the controversial Pegasos clinic, where assisted death is legal even without terminal illness. 'By the time you see this, I'll be with my Jenny,' she said quietly. 'I know this is going to be a bit of a shock.' Amanda's only child, Jenny Machin, died in 2017 from a brain tumour aged just 19. She never recovered from the loss, documenting her grief in heartfelt social media posts over the years. Yet her final months became engulfed in acrimony, bitterness and claims of bullying in the sleepy North Yorkshire village of Bentham, where she had opened a crafting enterprise earlier this year. Within weeks, Amanda Bloom Craft Room had closed down. Beneath a sign announcing the 'temporary closure', someone plastered a sticker that simply read: 'Good!' In a final Facebook post, Amanda accused a 'little group of crafters in Bentham' of making her life 'miserable for months with your bitchy comments, cruel Facebook memes and untrue gossip.' She wrote: 'Please don't think it's ok to pass me in the street with a cheery smile and hello…as if nothing has happened. 'It's not ok. You've cost me my new business, my financial security and my home. 'Please don't kid yourself that what you've done is a bit of harmless fun. It isn't. There are consequences.' In a suicide note, later posted online, she said: 'I just long for Jenny with all my heart….the laughter, the feeling of loving her unconditionally and being so wholeheartedly loved in return. She was the one wonderful thing in my life and without her it's just too hard. 'When I originally applied to Pegasos, I had hoped to go in November…to have one last summer and autumn, and to carry on running my lovely shop for a bit longer, but after the bullying escalated and made my shop feel unsafe to me, I decided to go as soon as possible. 'So I'm done. I give up. I just want to be with my darling girl who was always kind, always compassionate. I don't know what lies ahead. Maybe we'll be together, maybe there's only oblivion.' Amanda continued: 'I've sent letters to my nearest and dearest which hopefully you'll have received before seeing this. Nobody needs to do anything. All the official stuff has been taken care of. 'I know this isn't very rock and roll but I wanted to be sure that I would leave no mess or trauma for anyone to have to deal with. I've been able to plan and be organised. And for myself, I was assured of a certain, dignified, clean, pain free death.' Amanda confirmed in her goodbye that she had applied for assisted suicide after reading an article about another grieving woman who had chosen the same path. Friends say she reportedly paid £10,000 to die on her own terms. The application had been made months earlier, with an original date set for November. But, she wrote, harassment from locals forced her to bring the date forward. In a suicide note, later posted online, she said: 'When I originally applied to Pegasos, I had hoped to go in November…to have one last summer and autumn, and to carry on running my lovely shop for a bit longer. 'But after the bullying escalated and made my shop feel unsafe to me, I decided to go as soon as possible. 'So I'm done. I give up. I just want to be with my darling girl who was always kind, always compassionate.' Even in death, Amanda's story has bitterly divided her former community in the picturesque Yorkshire Dales. Supporters accused a small group of women of carrying out a 'hate campaign' against the grieving mother, who lived in a £400-a-month charity-run almshouse. One friend told Mail Online that Amanda had been the victim of 'nasty and unceasing bullying from a community of crafters', describing it 'like something from the film 'Wicked Little Letters', only in this story it has ended with somebody's death'. But women accused online as supposedly bullying Amanda insisted the claims could not have been further from the truth. Andrea Taylor, 61, told MailOnline: 'Don't portray Amanda as being this nice, lovely woman who's been upset by the public. 'Bentham has got really good people here. People did try to help her when she first came back and she turned nasty. 'She could be very plausible online - if you only saw the last posts before she died, you'd think 'poor woman.' But believe me, she had a very nasty side. Ms Taylor, a former police employee, added: 'She has followers who are making out me and others are bullies, when we're not. 'We're standing up for good people. And Amanda wasn't. She really wasn't. 'She's taken her own life and I don't wish to sound insensitive, but I'm not having friends that are genuine and caring being upset.' Amanda's supporters, many of whom purchased her popular DIY crafting kit subscriptions, claim she was hounded out of Bentham by a clique of 'pathetic harridans'. One wrote online: 'Your puerile and vile behaviour cost a lovely lady her business, her home and her peace of mind to such an extent that she felt she had no reason to stay alive any longer.' However, MailOnline was told by multiple sources in the market town that Amanda had in turn become hostile to friends who had tried to reach out and support her. Amanda accused a 'little group of crafters in Bentham' of making her life 'miserable for months with your bitchy comments, cruel Facebook memes and untrue gossip' Following the closure of her shop, the windows of Amanda's shop were covered with sheets of A4 paper bemoaning 'bullying' and affirmations such as: 'Blowing out someone else's candle doesn't make your shine any brighter' One, a woman aged 79, was injured at her high street shop in April after Amanda was said to have slammed a door on her hand. North Yorkshire Police was reportedly investigating. Shortly after, the cosy yellow-fronted shop shut permanently. Soon its windows were covered by Amanda with sheets of A4 paper bemoaning 'bullying' and affirmations such as: 'Blowing out someone else's candle doesn't make your shine any brighter'. Amanda wrote on Instagram in May: 'I was hoping that the bullies would have moved on by now but they haven't, so I'm just keeping to myself for these last few days until I can leave Bentham. 'I'm so sorry to let you down but it's just not worth the aggro.' Retired textiles crafter Lynne Massey, 69, claimed Amanda turned against her after the pair both moved to Bentham in 2020. She said: 'I did my best but she disliked me from the beginning. I didn't do anything against her. 'She told me never to speak to her, so I didn't, and then she told everybody I was ignoring her and not speaking. 'It was like this for four years. 'She upset me, but I put that out of the way. But there were people in my community that she was having shouts and screams at. Once she came out of the shops and called me a tatty-headed, scruffy old bitch. 'She's upset so many people. I stopped going out for quite a while, just kept to myself. 'I thought 'I don't need this hassle'. I'm too old for it.' Amanda's mental health struggles were not new, according to those that knew her. In 2010, she hit headlines when she accused an Anglican vicar of fleecing her out of £160,000 during a time of severe depression after her marriage broke down and her sister died. She claimed he told her to stop taking antidepressants and instead offered 'deliverance ministry' to expel demons, telling her to make a list of everyone she had ever had sex with, and burn it. 'I was so low and believed he was the only one who could cure me, so I did whatever he said,' she alleged at the time. 'He has fleeced me out of thousands and robbed my daughter and I of our financial security.' Amanda's social media profiles are awash with claim and counterclaim, with those accused of bullying being blamed for her decision to end her life. One former neighbour suggested that some residents were angry that she had opened a crafting business, when one was already operational in the town. They said: 'There was already a craft shop and some people thought she was taking business away. But she wasn't selling things. She was running classes, trying to find happiness after her daughter died. 'It sounds pathetic but there are some horrible old bitches in the village.' Another suggested there was consternation that Amanda had been housed in accommodation designated for the destitute, despite appearing to be able to pay rent and rates for her business premises. NHS worker Rachel Martin, from Bentham, spoke in defence of both Amanda and those accused of bullying. In a lengthy Facebook post, she said: 'Amanda was often distressed and hysterical, accusing people of bullying her, stalking her and harassing her. These things never actually happened. 'This whole situation centres around a lovely lady who suffered the tragedy of losing her daughter and struggled with her mental health. 'Her actions were driven by that, but caused a lot of stress and upset to the people who had bent them over a period of many months. 'Those people who did their very best to support a troubled friend are now being vilified online and accused of driving her to suicide.' In Switzerland, where Pegasos operates, there is no requirement for terminal illness to be a factor in approving an assisted dying application - unlike proposed legislation in the UK. Amanda informed friends of her decision via letters sent from the airport. The clinic later confirmed her death to an unknown 'designated contact'. This week, Amanda's one bed cottage had been emptied and a new arrival was due to move in. Neighbour Fred Carter, 88, said he was stunned to learn of her assisted suicide. He said: 'To me, she seemed fine. I used to take in her parcels - loads of them, sewing machines and things like that. I never saw anything wrong with her 'She never said a word to anyone about going or what her plans were. I just can't work it out. But you never know what's going on in someone's mind. 'She was a good neighbour, always spoke nicely. I didn't have a bad word to say about her.' Amanda's best friend, crafter Julie Park, posted online how the pair said a final goodbye before she left North Yorkshire in her campervan for the last time. She said: 'We Facetimed every couple of hours right up until the last time when she was in the clinic. 'And even then, I told her it wasn't too late. I could get a flight and go and get her. 'She could come back here, we could make a she was happy and content and utterly unwavering in her decision. 'The longing for Jenny was overpowering and even if she was heading for oblivion, she said she was walking through a door that Jenny had gone through and that nothing else mattered.' Eight weeks on from Amanda's death, her ashes are still to be returned from Switzerland - a wait that has done little to quell whispers in Bentham that she may actually still be alive. In one of the village's three pubs, one local said: 'It's sad and people want to draw a line under it. 'But there are so many people who don't even believe that she's done it, and that she might just turn back up. 'Nobody knows for sure, do they, that she's gone?' Friends from the crafting community have since raised over £7,000 for a bursary for budding artists. The fund will enable an artist to stand at Yarndale, one of the biggest crafting shows in the UK, held annually at nearby Skipton.
Times
2 days ago
- Times
The man arrested for helping 29 people die: ‘It was compassion'
Sean Davison has seen a lot of death. Over the last two decades, he has helped at least 33 people to kill themselves. 'It's a very important role,' he said. 'I enjoy helping people to have the death they want. A beautiful death to escape their suffering.' The police don't see it that way. Early on a July morning last year, ten officers raided his home in Dorset. He was questioned, held overnight and arrested on suspicion of 29 counts of assisting suicide. If it proceeds, the case will make legal history. Davison, 63, acted as an overseas agent working with Pegasos, an assisted dying clinic in Switzerland. He provided clients who were determined to end their lives with logistical and emotional support to reach the clinic: a sort of friendly travel agent to their final destination. Once there, he witnessed their deaths. He is still under investigation by Dorset police and no charges have been brought. After a year in legal limbo, he has agreed to speak publicly for the first time about his case, his beliefs and his hopes that England's proposed assisted dying law, currently restricted to the terminally ill, will soon be expanded to allow anyone of rational mind to access a state-approved death. 'An act of compassion' For someone who could be facing a 14-year prison sentence, Davison looks pretty cheerful. We meet at the house near Wareham, Dorset, where he lives with his wife, Raine, their three children aged 16, 15 and 11, their amiable German shepherds, Kia and Cally, and an impossibly cute grey kitten, Ollie. Their home bursts with the paraphernalia of an active family life: kayaks and bikes, kids' pictures on the wall, family photos (though many of those photos are still held by the police, he tells me). Slight and softly spoken, his somewhat donnish manner is a clue to his past. Davison earned a PhD in microbiology in his native New Zealand before emigrating to South Africa around the fall of apartheid, pioneering new DNA techniques at the University of the Western Cape. 'I loved my life there, being a scientist … I didn't think about dying or euthanasia at all. It didn't cross my mind,' he said. In 2006 he returned to New Zealand to nurse his mother, Pat, who was 85 and dying of cancer. In pain and desperate to hasten the end, she went on hunger strike. After 35 days with no food and little water, she was still alive but paralysed and racked with pain. 'I don't recommend starving yourself — it's a dreadful, dreadful way to go,' he said. She begged her son to help her die. 'I took a few days to think about it and realised it wasn't my decision. She was essentially decomposing. Who was I to play God and tell her: 'No, Mum, you must keep rotting in your bed until you die'?' He gave her a lethal dose of morphine. As well as ending his mother's life, the moment changed Davison's for ever. One of his sisters reported him to the police. His trial and conviction for assisting a suicide made headlines in both New Zealand and South Africa. After serving his sentence of five months' home detention he returned to Cape Town, where others who were desperate to die began to contact him for advice and help. 'I became a magnet for these issues,' he said. Not all who asked for his help were terminally ill. They included Anrich Burger, a quadriplegic man who found his life unbearable. 'I couldn't turn my back on him. It boiled down to compassion. That's not something you rationalise, it comes from the heart.' He helped more people to die. The South African police investigated and, in 2019, he pleaded guilty to three charges of premeditated murder. Desmond Tutu sent a character reference to the judge, and Davison's sentence was a relatively lenient three years of house arrest in Cape Town. Death on demand? Freed in 2022, he moved to the UK and settled in Dorset because it is 'as close to the equator as I could get'. He had become involved with the voluntary euthanasia group Exit International, which had links to the Pegasos clinic in Basel. He soon took over running the group's 'Swiss programme', accompanying and assisting Exit members from the UK, US and Australia to travel to Pegasos for their deaths. Assisting suicide is a crime in England and Wales but convictions are rare: five cases have been successfully prosecuted since 2009. When deciding whether to proceed, one factor considered by the Crown Prosecution Service is whether the accused stood to gain financially. Davison was a paid employee of Exit International until last year, when he began working directly with Pegasos. Assisting suicide was, I point out, how he made a living. 'Yeah, that will be a factor,' he said. 'The whole thing is a grey area. I knew I was on the edge of breaking the law. But I wasn't going to turn my back on people who need help.' Davison will not disclose his earnings from either Exit International or Pegasos, but maintains he could earn much more by returning to his former profession as a scientist. 'I took a big pay cut. Money's not important. I make a more valuable contribution to society doing what I do now'. How many people he 'helped' is unclear. 'Twenty nine is the number the police are investigating,' he said carefully. 'But the number makes no difference to me. Each one was done for the same reason, out of compassion.' Even for Switzerland, Pegasos is controversial. The clinic, which is non-profit and charges about 10,000 Swiss francs (£9,200) for an assisted death, will accept those who do not have terminal illness and those suffering from long-term depression, after an assessment. Critics point out that depression can often be treated and reversed, and say the approach comes dangerously close to death on demand. When describing those deaths at Pegasos, Davison's language borders on that of a travel brochure. The word 'beautiful' crops up a lot, describing both the surroundings and the deaths themselves. 'Some facilities are hidden away on industrial sites, but Pegasos have this facility in the hills around Basel, in a tiny hamlet with beautiful nature all around. There are stunning views through the windows where you lie on your bed and have your assisted death. 'Travelling to Switzerland can be an ordeal. The purpose of the programme was to help make it less stressful, more of a beautiful experience.' Clients typically stay one night in the purpose-built hotel next to the clinic and die the next day. 'I was with all of those 29,' he said. 'Some came with family and I'd be in the background. About half came alone. That could be very, very sad, but sometimes it was what they'd wanted: a meditative farewell on their own. In those cases I'd step out of their vision and experience completely. Though they can't be completely alone. There needs to be a witness.' No doubts Davison's certainty that every individual has 'a right to end their suffering' seems unshakeable. He is disappointed with the bill going through parliament, which only applies to the terminally ill with a six-month prognosis. He wants a law similar to that in Switzerland, where any mentally competent adult can request assistance to die. He thinks we're heading that way. 'This bill is a starting point. Australia had a similar law, and within a year they were reviewing it. Canada too. Ours could expand quickly.' This is precisely the spectre that opponents raise: once assisted suicides are allowed, the floodgates will open. 'But surely if the floodgates open, it indicates there is a demand,' he counters. 'All the more reason to change the law.' • How did your MP vote on assisted dying? Other objections cut no ice with him. Coercion from family members? 'It can happen, but from the countries where the law has changed there's been no evidence of it. I've seen the opposite — families resisting their loved one's desire to end their life. Coercion is not an issue.' Religious objections? 'I believe we make our own decisions. It's too easy to place everything at the feet of God.' It's only when I raise depression that his certainty falters. Mental suffering can be as unbearable as physical suffering, Davison believes, and as valid a reason for an individual to choose to end their life; but when asked whether that means depressed people would qualify, he will only say it should be left to experts. He is on surer ground with the healthy elderly who decide they have had enough. 'We refer to it as old-age rational suicide,' he said. 'The day after my arrest, I was due to accompany a 95-year-old lady from Dorset to Pegasos. She'd lived a full life and wasn't ill but was on a steady decline and had made a sound, rational decision. 'The police stopped it. They found her details at my house, went straight to her place. But she was a smart woman. Two days later she jumped in a taxi to Heathrow and away she went to her assisted death. But she'd wanted me there. Instead, she had to go with no support.' No way back Davison's arrest has left him more defiant than ever, and if charged he will plead not guilty. 'If the law is not challenged, families will continue living in fear of accompanying their loved ones to Switzerland — and that's got to stop, it's just inhumane.' For now he remains in a twilight zone, pondering where his commitment to the assisted dying cause, born two decades ago at his mother's bedside, has led him. 'I didn't want this journey I'm on,' he said. 'I'm a family man, I want to be at home with my kids. But I don't want to be ashamed of the things I didn't do … and if I hadn't helped these people, I'd be ashamed. 'My mother's death opened my eyes. If it had been different, I'd still be a scientist. I would have preferred that happy, peaceful life. It was just that one turning point … and then there was no way back.'
Extra.ie
4 days ago
- Health
- Extra.ie
Irish family shocked by message from assisted dying clinic
An Irish family has been left reeling after allegedly receiving a text message from a suicide clinic in Switzerland informing them that their mother was dead, and her ashes would be arriving in the post. 58-year-old Maureen Slough, based in Co Cavan, travelled to the Pegasos clinic on July 8, telling her family she was going to Lithuania with a friend, according to the Irish Independent. However, the woman's daughter, Megan, says she was shocked when she received a WhatsApp message saying her mother had died listening to gospel music sung by Elvis Presley, while her family believed she was holidaying in Lithuania. Maureen Slough, a 58-year-old mother from Cavan who reportedly took her own life at the Pegasos clinic, and her daughter Megan Royal. Pic: Facebook Now her family is demanding answers to find out why their mother, who they say attempted suicide a year earlier following the deaths of her two sisters, was able to seek assisted dying without the family being informed. Her daughter Megan told the Irish Independent that she had to track her mother's ashes through the postal system. It's reported that after the shock of finding out Ms Slough had travelled alone to Switzerland and paid a reported £13,000 to the Pegasos Swiss Association to facilitate her death two days later, the family began investigating how this could have happened They were shocked to find that Pegasos accepted their mother's application, considering her long history of mental illness, and claimed the clinic did not inform the family of her plan. Ms Slough allegedly travelled alone to Switzerland and paid £13,000 to the Pegasos Swiss Association to facilitate her death two days later. Pic: Facebook But the Pegasos group has allegedly said that it received a letter from Ms Slough's daughter, Megan, saying she was aware of her mother's desire to die and that she had accepted her decision, something Megan has denied. The clinic also claimed it verified the authenticity of the letter through an email response to Ms Royal, using an email address supplied by her mother, but Megan insists she never wrote such a letter or verified any contact from the clinic, and the family claim their mother may have forged the letter and then verified it using an email address she created herself. This is not the first time the non-profit assisted dying clinic Pegasos has attracted controversy. Alistair Hamilton with his mother Judith. Pic: ITV In 2023, Alistair Hamilton, a 47-year-old teacher from the UK, with no diagnosed illness, took his own life at the Swiss clinic, without the knowledge of his family, and after that case, Pegasos reportedly promised it would always contact a person's relatives before carrying out assisted death. His mother, Judith, later visited the clinic where her son had died to look for answers. Since 1942, under Swiss Law, people have been allowed to help others to die, as long as their motives are not for personal gain, such as an inheritance or other form of monetary gain. The law states that the person wishing to die must be of sound mind, but they do not need to be terminally ill or have any medical conditions. The country's assisted suicide clinics are non-profit organisations. Earlier this year, British MPs voted to change the suicide law in the UK and allow terminally ill people in England and Wales the choice to end their lives.
Sunday World
5 days ago
- Health
- Sunday World
Family in shock: ‘We found out from a WhatsApp that my mother had died by assisted suicide'
Swiss clinic criticised by family of Cavan woman (58) with history of mental illness after they were left in dark over her death plan Or at least that is what her family have been told. None of them were with the 58-year-old as she slipped away at a clinic in Switzerland. In fact, news of Ms Slough's death reached her daughter, Megan Royal, back in Dublin by WhatsApp. Ms Royal was horrified to be informed that her mother's ashes would be posted to her. Now the family of the Cavan-based woman, who had a long history of mental illness and had tried to take her own life last year, want to know how somebody's life could be ended in such a manner. Maureen Slough Ms Slough travelled to the Pegasos clinic in Switzerland less than a month ago, on July 8, having told her family she was going to Lithuania with a friend. Her family became suspicious and contacted her. They say she promised to return. But Ms Royal and Ms Slough's partner, Mick Lynch, would later receive a message from a volunteer for the Pegasos group to inform them of her death. The family immediately set about trying to find out why they were not informed by the clinic in advance, and also questioned if Ms Slough's history of mental illness was assessed by the clinic first. The Pegasos group has said in response to questions from family and friends of Ms Slough, that it received a letter from Ms Slough's daughter Megan saying she was aware of her mother's wishes and accepted them. It also says it verified the letter through an email response to Ms Royal using an email address supplied by Ms Slough. Ms Royal has said she never wrote such a letter or verified any contact from Pegasos, and now her family think Ms Slough may have forged the 'letter' and verified it using an email address she created herself. Maureen Slough with her daughter Megan News in 90 Seconds - August 6th Pegasos was asked further questions by the Irish Independent as to why it did not ring Ms Royal, and whether it sought a mental health history for Ms Slough before her death. The Pegasos group responded that Ms Slough went through an extensive assessment process leading up to her death, including an independent psychiatric evaluation confirming she was of sound mind. Her brother Philip, a UK solicitor, has now written to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the UK, asking it to investigate the matter with Swiss authorities. In his letter, he said Pegasos did not rigorously follow its own policy to inform a family. He said while he understands Ms Slough represented to the clinic that this had been done by the letter purportedly written by Ms Royal, the clinic only sought confirmation through an email provided by Ms Slough. 'I am working on the assumption that my sister created this email and the clinic's procedures were woefully inadequate in verification,' he wrote. 'The Pegasos clinic has faced numerous criticisms in the UK for their practices with British nationals' 'It appears my sister provided Pegasos with letters of complaint to medical authorities in Éire in respect of bogus medical conditions, and that these documents were considered by Pegasos in support of her application. 'While I understand that Swiss law permits assisted dying, the Pegasos clinic has faced numerous criticisms in the UK for their practices with British nationals, and the circumstances in which my sister took her life are highly questionable.' In March, the BBC ran a report saying the Pegasos clinic allegedly helped a Welsh woman named Anne (51) end her life in January without informing her family, despite promising to change its practices following a previous case. It said that under similar circumstances, Alistair Hamilton (47) died in 2023, and the Pegasos clinic reportedly promised last year that it would always contact a person's family before carrying out an assisted death. However, Anne, whose death was first reported by ITV News, allegedly died without her family being informed. The BBC reported that Pegasos said it had attempted to phone and text Anne's brother John, but he insisted he had received no communication from the group. Dyfed-Powys Police in Wales told the BBC it is investigating her death. The Pegasos building Anne's family learnt of her intention to die only after goodbye letters posted to them from Switzerland arrived. Ms Royal and Ms Slough's partner, Mr Lynch, received a similar card, handwritten by her mother, in recent weeks. The grieving daughter said her mother had tried to take her own life last year following the deaths of two of her sisters, and was not in her right mind when she made her decision to go to Switzerland. Her latest granddaughter had been born just days earlier. 'They should not have allowed her to make that decision on her own. This group did not contact me, even though my mother had nominated me as next of kin. They waited until afterwards and then told me she had died listening to an Elvis Presley song,' Ms Royal said. She added that her mother had a difficult upbringing, having been brought to Ireland by her own mother and a man she had met while in a mental hospital in the UK. She said that despite years of trauma, her mother made a good life for herself and joined the civil service, being promoted to executive officer before retiring last year. Ms Royal said that her mother travelled alone to Switzerland and paid €15,000 to the Pegasos Swiss Association to facilitate her death two days later. 'I was actually talking to her that morning and she was full of life' 'She had told us she was going to Lithuania, but she had confided in two people that she had other plans, and after a series of concerned phone calls she said she would come home, but then we got the WhatsApp message to say she had died,' her daughter said. Mr Lynch said: 'I was actually talking to her that morning and she was full of life. She said she was after having her breakfast and she was going out to sit in the sun. Maybe she was heading off to that place. I still thought she was coming home.' The Pegasos group said Ms Slough went through an extensive assessment process leading up to her death, including an independent psychiatric evaluation confirming she was of sound mind. It said she was consistently forthcoming about her background and history, and provided thorough medical documentation, including from her pain-management consultant. It said she had stated repeatedly that she was in chronic pain that was unbearable to her, despite seeing the pain specialist. Pegasos logo Pegasos added that Ms Slough provided a letter from her daughter Megan, and in the letter she stated in writing that she confirmed she was fully informed regarding her mother's decision, and that she had been made fully aware of her intentions and the nature of the procedure she was seeking. It said Megan stated that she had the opportunity to discuss this matter with her mother and understood the reasons behind the decision, and the implications of her choice. Pegasos said Megan was contacted directly by email to confirm the authenticity of the letter, and that in the email, Megan confirmed that the letter was indeed hers, and that she was sorry she could not accompany her mother to Switzerland, and that she was not happy with her mother's decision but understood that she was in a great deal of pain. The letter and email are disputed by Ms Royal and Ms Slough's family. Friends of Ms Slough have been horrified by the manner of her death, and questioned everything about it, including the manner in which the Swiss group repatriates remains through the parcel post system. 'You get letters in the post, not people,' her friend Stephanie Daly said. Ms Slough's ashes have now arrived with her family and funeral arrangements are being made. If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, you can call Samaritans free on 116123 or email jo@ or call Pieta on freephone 1800 247 247 or text HELP to 51444
The Sun
5 days ago
- Health
- The Sun
Family horror as suicide clinic ‘sends them WhatsApp saying their mum, 58, is dead and her ashes are in the post'
AN IRISH family was left devastated after allegedly receiving a text from a Swiss assisted dying clinic that their mum was dead and her ashes would be sent by post. Maureen Slough, a 58-year-old from Cavan, travelled to the Pegasos clinic on July 8 to seek an assisted death - without her family's knowledge - according to the Irish Independent. 2 Maureen reportedly told her family that she and a friend were going to Lithuania. "I was actually talking to her that morning and she was full of life," Maureen's partner Mick Lynch told the newspaper, speaking about the morning of her death. "She said after having her breakfast... she was going out to sit in the sun. Maybe she was heading off to that place. I still thought she was coming home." Her daughter, Megan Royal, then received a heartbreaking WhatsApp message, which allegedly said her mum had died listening to gospel music sung by Elvis Presley. The family is shocked that the clinic would accept an application for assisted dying from Maureen, who they say had long struggled with mental illness. She had also attempted suicide a year prior, after the deaths of her two sisters. Adding to their dismay, the family claims the clinic never informed them of her plans. Friends are reportedly horrified by the clinic's method of returning the ashes via parcel post. Her friend, Stephanie Daly, told the newspaper: "You get letters in the post, not people." Desperate for answers, the family found out Maureen had paid a reported £13,000 to the Pegasos Swiss Association to assist her death. Car bursts into flames in busy Glasgow street sparking rush hour chaos The Pegasos group is a non-profit voluntary assisted dying organisation. According to its website, the clinic believes it's "the human right of every rational adult of sound mind, regardless of state of health, to choose the manner and timing of their death". The group allegedly said it received a letter from Megan, stating she was aware of and accepted her mum's decision to die. The clinic also claims it verified the letter's authenticity through an email response from Megan, using an email address her mum provided. But Megan insists she never wrote the letter or verified any contact from the clinic, the report said. The family claims Maureen may have forged the letter and created a fake email address to verify it. Her brother Philip, a UK solicitor, claims Maureen provided the clinic with "letters of complaint to medical authorities in Éire in respect of bogus medical conditions" - which Pegasos then used as supporting documents for her application. Megan reportedly argues her mum's decision to go to the clinic was made in a state of grief, as a result of her sisters' deaths. She also cites her mum's difficult upbringing as a child. It is understood that in the past few weeks, the family has received handwritten goodbye letters from Maureen. The Pegasos group maintains that it carried out an extensive assessment of Maureen's mental health - including an independent psychiatric evaluation. They added that Maureen told the clinic she was in unbearable and unrelievable chronic pain and that they received supporting medical documentation from her pain-management consultant. Regarding the letter, the clinic claims Megan confirmed its authenticity via email and apologised for not being able to accompany her mum to Switzerland. The clinic claims the letter expressed that while Megan was unhappy with her mum's decision, she accepted it. Maureen's brother wants the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, along with Swiss authorities, to conduct an investigation. "I am working on the assumption that my sister created this email and the clinic's procedures were woefully inadequate in verification," he wrote. "The Pegasos clinic has faced numerous criticisms in the UK for their practices with British nationals, and the circumstances in which my sister took her life are highly questionable." When approached for comment by the Daily Mail, the Pegasos Swiss Association said it could not "share, confirm, nor deny the identities of our patients in public". It added: "When talking about voluntary assisted death in Switzerland, it is important to understand that all organisations are legally bound to do careful prior assessment. "Pegasos has always respected the applicable Swiss law without exception and continues to do so." Maureen's family's story is not unique. Other families have also slammed Pegasos, claiming they had no knowledge that their loved ones would undergo assisted deaths. In 2023, Pegasos reportedly vowed to contact a person's relatives beforehand after 47-year-old teacher Alistair Hamilton - who had no diagnosed illness - died, leaving his family shocked. However, in 2025, the organisation appeared to break this promise. Anne Canning, a 51-year-old British mum, who was battling depression after the sudden death of her son 19 months prior, ended her life at the clinic, ITV first reported. Her family were allegedly not informed of her decision - only finding out after they received goodbye letters she had written shortly before her death.
