A doctor questioned for murd£r after the de@th a woman using a “suicide pod” has also taken his own life.
Dr Florian Willet was arrested last September over the de@th of a 64-year-old woman.
She d!ed in a Sarco su!cide pod in a forest near Merishausen, Switzerland, and was found inside with strangulation marks on her neck.
Willet, 47, d!ed last month but his de@th was only confirmed this week. He was the only person present for the woman’s de@th.
The woman was the first person to use the ‘su!cide pod’, which k!lls the person inside with nitrogen gas.
Willet, who was a strong advocate for euthanasia, was the president of The Last Resort, which operates Sarco.
Though voluntary assisted su!cide is legal in Switzerland, prosecutors have said the pod could be banned.
Willet called police after the woman d!ed in the Sarco pod, and he was arrested and kept in custody while officers investigated.
The public prosecutor said there was a “strong suspicion” that “intentional homicide” was involved.
Schaffhausen prosecutor Peter Sticher said in September: “We warned them in writing.
“We said that if they came to Schaffhausen and used Sarco, they would face criminal consequences.”
But Sarco pod inventor Dr Philip Nitschke said the murd£r arrest had a serious effect on Willet, and he was admitted to psychiatric hospital twice before his de@th on May 5.
Dr Willet with Dr Nitschke
Dr Nitschke said: “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 said Willet d!ed last month with the help of a specialised organisation, having fallen from the third floor of his home in Zurich earlier this year which caused serious injuries.
He claimed Willet had developed psychosis brought on by the stress of being arrested and his time in custody.
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.”
