The creators of the “suicide pod” have spoken out following claims that the first person to use it was found with strangulation marks.
As previously reported, the device known as the Sarco Pod, developed by Exit International and operated by The Last Resort, allows users to end their lives through a controlled release of nitrogen gas.
This induces a painless death through oxygen deprivation.
Dr. Philip Nitschke, an advocate for assisted suicide who has been dubbed “Doctor Death,” created the pod with the goal of offering a humane, drug-free method of euthanasia.
An American woman’s death has since led to an ongoing criminal investigation in Switzerland, after she became the first to die using the device.
According to Nitschke, the woman appeared to die peacefully.
“It looked exactly as we expected it to,” he said in a statement to Dutch media, adding: “My guess is that she lost consciousness within two minutes and that she died after five minutes.”
The woman died on September 23 in the pod and Dr. Florian Willet, who was reportedly the only person present at the time of her death, was detained at the scene alongside two lawyers and a photographer and remains in custody.
Authorities are probing the woman’s death, raising suspicions of potential foul play after forensic experts allegedly observed serious neck injuries, per Dutch media.
Despite The Last Resort’s description of the woman’s death as peaceful, forensic evidence led investigators to question the cause.
Chief prosecutor Peter Sticher, who was present with police and forensics on September 23, said: “We found the capsule with the lifeless person inside… and brought them to the Institute of Forensic Medicine. An autopsy will be performed.”
However, no official autopsy report has been released, raising further questions.
The woman reportedly suffered from skull base osteomyelitis, a painful bone marrow infection that, according to a source close to The Last Resort, could have caused neck marks resembling strangulation.
Friends of the woman told NZZ that she had struggled with debilitating pain for two years, experiencing severe headaches and limitations on mobility due to an immune disorder that made treating the condition challenging.
The Last Resort shared a statement made by the woman before her death, in which she said, “I have had a death wish for at least two years” due to her “very serious illness.”
The Last Resort and Exit International have insisted the unnamed woman entered the pod willingly and pushed a button, which filled the pod with nitrogen, euthanizing her as planned.
In a joint statement, they described chief prosecutor Peter Sticher’s allegation of “intentional homicide” as “ridiculous and absurd”, per the Daily Mail.
The Sarco capsule, created using a 3D printer, works by filling the enclosed chamber with nitrogen, replacing oxygen, and rendering the occupant unconscious within minutes.
A camera records the final moments, and the footage is provided to coroners.
The Last Resort noted that the device is meant to be a free alternative for those seeking assisted suicide, with the only expense being the nitrogen cost of approximately 18 Swiss francs.
