A woman has revealed her son's final words before he secretly travelled to a clinic to end his life.
Last August, Alastair Hamilton, from Hampton, southwest London, told his family he was flying to Paris, France to visit a friend.
But in reality, the 47-year-old chemistry teacher was traveling to Basel, Switzerland, to end his life at Pegasos Swiss Association, which is a legal assisted dying facility.
Alastair's online application form, which was obtained by ITV News, revealed that he had an undiagnosed stomach condition which he said caused him "pain, fatigue and discomfort" and he said it had "devastated his life".
Alastair's concerned family noticed that their loved one was not responding to their calls, texts, and voicemails, so they reported him as missing.
The police launched a search and discovered that the late teacher booked a flight to Switzerland. An analysis of his bank transactions then revealed four payments totaling over $13,000 to the small clinic, as reported by Daily Mail.
Officers contacted Pegasos and they confirmed Alastair had passed away there, but they did not provide authorities with the date of his death nor did they reply to emails about providing a scan of his passport. They also did not sign an affidavit that would've helped the family receive information about their relative.
A few weeks later, the clinic revealed to Alastair's brother, Toby, that his brother had died on August 14.
The late teacher's mother, Judith, has reflected on her son's life during an interview with ITV.
The 81-year-old shared that she drove Alastair to Gatwick Airport along with her husband Edward, 85, for what they believed was a short trip to France.
"He put his arms around me, looked me straight in the eyes and he was smiling," she said, remembering their final moments together. "And he said 'Love you, mum, love you lots, always have, always will no matter what.'"
Judith had no idea this was their last conversation, adding: "I was so chuffed to think he was picking up his life and getting some enthusiasm, and he was always very affectionate and loving towards me, so it didn't register that these words were his final goodbye."
The family received Alastair's ashes in October, two months after he died.
They never received any goodbye letters, despite Pegasos claiming their loved one had left some for them. They have also never received his clothes, wristwatch, or any of his belongings.
"We eventually found Alastair's application to Pegasos which was literally just like a two-page covering letter for a job application," Toby said. "It doesn't seem like they do any of the checks that Dignitas do."
"They're not liaising with doctors for medical records or psychotherapists to make sure a person is ill," he added.
According to Daily Mail, Pegasos has since apologized in a statement, which read: "We would like to tell the family once again that we are very sorry that our communication caused them further distress last year."
"We were not sure how to deal with the situation in terms of communication and legally and therefore did not act as we would today. We hope that our meeting helped them to understand better the decision and path of Alastair," they continued.
The clinic promised to inform families in the future about the death of relatives.
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