Suicide Pod User Found With Disturbing Marks, Company Boss In Custody

By Brian Myers | Published

Dr. Florian Willet, who heads a right-to-die organization named “The Last Resort,” has been in the custody of Swiss authorities since the death of an unnamed woman who opted to end her life in the company’s care in September. The self-activated euthanasia took place inside a Sarco suicide pod, meant to give the user a quick, painless, and dignified death. It’s been revealed that the user bore strangulation marks on her neck, however, prompting some to call foul play.

Death With Dignity

Hibernation pods in Passengers

The Sarco suicide pod is the brainchild of Dr. Philip Nitschke, who founded a “death with dignity” organization named Exit International. His aim was to craft a “painless and autonomous” method for a terminally ill person to peacefully end their life. His invention was put to use for the first time last month when “The Last Resort” used a 3D printer to create the pod and allow the now-deceased person to end their life in it.

The autopsy is said to include information regarding “strangulation marks on the woman’s neck,” which is why Swiss prosecuting attorney Peter Sticher decided to “extend the scope of the investigation to include murder.” But while the prosecutor has so far refused to publicly confirm any of the reports, a source close to “The Last Resort” has offered plausible explanations for the marks that do not include murder.

The unnamed source stated that the strangulation marks may be from the patient suffering from skull base osteomyelitis. This rare infection can be fatal if not treated.

Strange Marks Found On The Body

“The Last Resort” has not officially given a statement about the alleged strangulation marks other than to state that “without the full autopsy report, (we) cannot comment on the ‘suspicion’ of ‘injuries’ on the neck of the first Sarco user.” The autopsy was performed on September 23, and the organization maintains that it has been hidden from the company and its lawyers. But “The Last Resort” maintains that the suicide pod was used in accordance with Swiss laws.

Not much public information about the suicide pod’s last user has been released. It’s been confirmed that the unnamed deceased person was a 64-year-old woman from the United States who had two adult children, both of whom supported their mother’s right to end her life in this manner. It’s also been released that the woman suffered from a rare auto-immune condition that was not treatable.

A Controversial Device

Chris Pratt next to a sleep pod in Passengers

The Sarco suicide pod can be created using a 3D printer. This million-dollar development has the user enter the pod and, when they are ready, press a button that releases a nitrogen capsule. Once the capsule has burst, the oxygen in the pod is quickly reduced to a fraction, while the CO2 levels are maintained at a very low amount.

The user undergoes a process called hypoxia inside the suicide pod, making them quickly lose consciousness. Their brain is thus deprived of oxygen while they are out, and death quickly and painlessly takes the user. While this was the first known time that the Sarco suicide pod was used on a person, it’s been reported that every eight days, a British citizen travels to Switzerland to undergo some form of assisted suicide.

Sources: Leading Britain’s Conversation

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