Suicide pod doctor dies after ‘strangling' claim
A prominent euthanasia advocate has died months after he was detained by Swiss authorities on suspicion of strangling the first person to use a controversial 3D-printed 'suicide capsule' after the device allegedly failed to work.
Dr Florian Willet, 47, died in Germany on May 5, according to an obituary by Australian right-to-die activist Dr Philip Nitschke posted on the website of The Last Resort, the assisted dying group founded by Dr Willet.
'He is dearly missed,' Dr Nitschke wrote.
Dr Nitschke, the founder of pro-euthanasia group Exit International, is the inventor of the 'Sarco' capsule, which was used by a chronically ill US woman in a Swiss forest on September 23 last year.
Dr Willet was the only person present for the death and called police who later took him into custody.
The 'Sarco' cost $1.5 million to develop, according to Dr Nitschke, and allows a person sitting reclined in a seat to push a button that floods the chamber with nitrogen gas.
Within minutes, the user is supposed to slip into unconsciousness before they die of suffocation.
On October 26, Dutch newspaper Volkskrant reported the Swiss prosecutor had indicated in court that the 64-year-old woman might have actually been strangled.
Dr Nitschke said 'this allegation has no foundation'.
He said Dr Willet was held in pre-trial detention for 70 days until December 2.
'When Florian was released suddenly and unexpectedly from pre-trial detention in early December 2024, he was a changed man,' he wrote.
'Gone was his warm smile and self-confidence. In its place was a man who was deeply traumatised by the experience of incarceration and the wrongful accusation of strangulation. In the early days of 2025, Florian 'fell' from the third floor of his Zurich apartment building. He would spend the following three months undergoing surgery and in rehab in Switzerland. During this time he was cared for by a full psychiatric team.'
Dr Willet's psychiatric discharge report in January stated that he was suffering from 'an acute polymorphic psychotic disorder (F23.0) which is currently subsiding under antipsychotic therapy, and which has developed following the stress of the pre-trial detention and the associated processes', according to Dr Nitschke.
'Florian's spirit was broken,' he wrote.
'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. He was bravely present when the Sarco was used. Everyone needs a Florian by their side in their final moments. Florian has now paid the ultimate price — his life — for his compassion. Florian will live forever in our hearts.'
Dr Nitschke first broke his silence on the controversy in a November interview with the Associated Press, telling the wire service he was 'desperate' about the plight of Dr Willet.
'It is absurd because we've got film that the capsule wasn't opened,' he said. 'She got in herself, pressed the button herself.'
Other people were also arrested after the woman's death, including a journalist with a Dutch newspaper, but were later released.
Dr Nitschke said the woman, from the US midwest, had 'compromised immune function' that made her 'subject to chronic infection'.
In a separate interview, Dr Nitschke said Mr Willet, who was the only person present for the death, had told him it had been 'peaceful, fast, and dignified'.
Dr Nitschke said he had been told the pod's use would be legal in Switzerland, one of the few countries foreigners can come to legally end their life.
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