Latest news with #suicidePod
BBC News
2 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Euthanasia activist arrested over 'suicide pod' dies
A pro-euthanasia activist who was arrested following the death of a woman using the world's first so-called suicide pod has Florian Willet, 47, was reportedly the only other person present when a 64-year-old American woman took her own life using the device in a forest in Switzerland last pod's inventor Philip Nitschke told BBC News that Dr Willet died by assisted suicide in a separate statement, Mr Nitschke said Dr Willet had suffered psychological trauma following his arrest and detention in connection with the Switzerland death. If you are experiencing any of the issues mentioned in this story you can visit BBC Action Line for a list of websites and helplines that can offer direct help at any time. "In the final months of his life, Dr Florian Willet shouldered more than any man should," he Last Resort - an assisted dying organisation founded by Dr Willet to facilitate the use of the pod - said the arrest had left him "broken".The activist was held in pre-trial detention for 70 days while police investigated whether he had intentionally killed the woman - an allegation he was not charged to his death on 5 May, Dr Willet fell from a third-floor window, the group said, leaving him requiring surgery and needing to be "cared for by a full psychiatric team".While assisted dying is legally protected in some circumstances in Switzerland, it is strictly regulated, and the pod has encountered say the device - manufactured by Sarco - provides an assisted dying option which is not reliant on drugs or doctors and expands potential access. Critics fear the device's modern design glamorises suicide, and that the fact that it can be operated without medical oversight is dying is illegal in the UK and in most other European countries, but thousands have travelled to Switzerland over the years to end their own News has contacted the Swiss prosecutor's office for comment.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Health
- The Sun
Suicide pod activist Dr Florian Willet takes own life after arrest over ‘murder' of woman who used euthanasia device
A SUICIDE pod activist has taken his own life after being interrogated over the murder of a woman who died in one of the euthanasia devices. Florian Willet, 47, suffered a mental health crisis after he was arrested by Swiss Police last year, according to Philip Nitschke, the inventor of the Sarco suicide capsule. 2 2 Willet, from Germany, was the director of Last Resort, the Swiss suicide organisation which operated the Sarco pods. He was also a prominent right-to-die activist. The director was investigated for aiding and abetting suicide. As part of the probe, prosecutors investigated whether he strangled the woman, but that was ruled out. Willet was released in December after being held in pre-trial detention for 70 days. Nitschke, who also directs pro-assisted dying group Exit International, 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." He revealed that his colleague Willet sought help and went into hospital twice before his death on May 5. Willet reportedly died in Germany with the help of a specialist organisation, though it is not known exactly how he died. Nitschke continued: 'To describe Florian is to talk of a man who was thoughtful, caring, funny, and friendly. He was an easy person to be around. 'But most of all, Florian was kind. Florian was also passionate about a person's right to choose when to die.' . YOU'RE NOT ALONE EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide. It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society - from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers. It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes. And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women. Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now. That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign. The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives. Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others... You're Not Alone. If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Sarco activist dead at 47: Man who was arrested for murder after a woman ended her life in a pod dies by assisted suicide
A euthanasia advocate who was questioned for murder after the death of a woman using a suicide pod last year has died by assisted suicide, it was announced yesterday. Dr Florian Willet, 47, was arrested in September 2024 following the death of a 64-year-old woman using a Sarco suicide pod after she was allegedly found inside with strangulation marks on her neck. He was only person present for the death of the woman, who was the first person to use the nitrogen gas capsule, after it had been set up in a forest near Merishausen, Switzerland. Dr Willet was arrested when police arrived at the scene and he remained in custody for 70 days as investigators probed the circumstances surrounding the death. The public prosecutor said that there had been a 'strong suspicion' that 'intentional homicide' had been at play. But these accusations were said to have such a traumatic effect on the author and activist that he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital twice before his death on May 5. Exit International Director Dr Philip Nitschke, who invented the Sarco pod, wrote yesterday: 'When Florian was released suddenly and unexpectedly from pre-trial detention in early December 2024, he was a changed man. '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.' Dr Nitschke told Dutch news outlet Volkskrant that Dr Willet died last month in Cologne 'with the help of a specialized organization'. In Dr Willet's obituary, which yesterday announced his death, Dr Nitschke revealed that the 47-year-old had 'fallen' from the third floor of his property in Zurich earlier this year, causing him 'serious damage'. Dr Nitschke said he was fully assessed by a psychiatric team during his three-month recovery, who said Dr Willet had developed 'an acute polymorphic psychotic disorder'. He says this had been brought on 'following the stress of pre-trial detention and the associated processes'. Dr Nitschke added: 'No one was surprised. Florian's spirit was broken. He knew that he did nothing illegal or wrong, but his belief in the rule of law in Switzerland was in tatters. 'In the final months of his life, Dr Florian Willet shouldered more than any man should.' Dr Willet had informed Swiss authorities after the woman's death and they quickly descended on the forest. Police discovered the woman's lifeless body inside the pod and arrested several people. Dr Willet was detained with two lawyers and a Volkskrant photographer who had been taking pictures of the pod and documented the woman arriving in the woodland. The public prosecutor in the Schaffhausen canton said that Sarco's creators had been warned not to use the device in the region, but that the warning had not been heeded. 'We warned them in writing,' prosecutor Peter Sticher said in September. 'We said that if they came to Schaffhausen and used Sarco, they would face criminal consequences.' Dr Willet described the death in the controversial capsule as 'peaceful, fast and dignified'. The pod is designed so that the push of a button injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber, with the person inside then dying by suffocation within a few minutes. Before his arrest Dr Willet said he had 'considered' suicide at the age of five. His father died by suicide when he was 14 years old and he said he was 'completely fine with it.' He added: 'I was extremely sad because I loved my father. But, I understood immediately my father wanted to do this because he was a rational person, which means that expecting him to remain alive just because I need a father would mean extending his suffering.' For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116123 or visit
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Suicide pod activist takes his own life aged 47 after ‘trauma' of arrest
A right-to-die activist questioned for murder after the death of a woman using a suicide pod has died by assisted suicide. Florian Willet suffered a mental health crisis after he was arrested by Swiss police in September last year, said Philip Nitschke, the inventor of the Sarco suicide capsule. Mr Willet was the director of Swiss suicide organisation Last Resort, which was set up to facilitate the use of the Sarco. The 47-year-old German was investigated for aiding and abetting suicide. Prosecutors also investigated whether he had strangled the woman, but that was ruled out before he was released in December after 70 days of pre-trial detention. '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,' said Mr Nitschke, director of pro euthanasia group Exit International. The Australian former physician, who is called 'Doctor Death' by his critics, said Mr Willet sought help and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital twice before his death on May 5. Mr Nitschke told the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant that Mr Willet had died in Germany with the help of an unnamed specialised organisation. It is not known how he died. 'To describe Florian is to talk of a man who was thoughtful, caring, funny, and friendly. He was an easy person to be around,' said Mr Nitschke, who lives in the Netherlands. 'But most of all, Florian was kind. Florian was also passionate about a person's right to choose when to die.' Suicide is legal under certain conditions in Switzerland, but the pod had never been used before and there were warnings it would be illegal. Mr Willet was the only person present when a 64-year-old American woman, who has not been named, pressed a button to fill the Sarco pod with nitrogen gas. The woman had suffered from an immune disease. He informed the authorities after her death in a forest in the canton of Schaffhausen but was arrested, along with several others, including a newspaper photographer. They were later released but Mr Willet, a former media spokesman for euthanasia clinic Dignitas, continued to be detained. He had described the first death in the controversial Sarco pod as 'peaceful, fast and dignified'. The 3D-printable capsule cost about £550,000 to research and develop in the Netherlands over 12 years. Last Resort has said that future reusable pods could cost about £12,600. 'By the age of five I took my own dying by suicide into consideration,' Mr Willet said in an interview before his arrest. He revealed his father had died by suicide when he was 14 and claimed he was 'completely fine with it.' He added: 'I was extremely sad because I loved my father. But, I understood immediately my father wanted to do this because he was a rational person, which means that expecting him to remain alive just because I need a father would mean extending his suffering.'
