Heartbreaking details of a mom's death at a controversial Swiss assisted suicide clinic have been revealed.
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Anne Canning, 51, ended her life at the Pegasos clinic near Basel earlier this year, despite reportedly not being terminally ill.
Her loved ones only discovered what had happened after receiving heartbreaking goodbye letters she had written shortly before her death.
“Dear Delia, So if you're reading this, I am no longer here,” she wrote to her sister, cited by Daily Mail. “I have thought about this long and hard and need to find Joe and ask him some questions.
“There is nothing you could have done because this was my decision to go to Switzerland and be in peace… I can't keep going and get older and older without my son," she continued.
Anne’s son Joe, a tennis instructor from Johnston, Wales, “sadly passed away suddenly” on July 19, 2023. Tributes remembered him as an “amazing young man” and “a lovely lad” with “the kindest heart.”
Anne’s sudden decision has torn her family apart. “She was one of the healthiest people we know,” her sister Delia told ITV News, pointing to social media pictures showing the late woman rock climbing in the months before her death.
“Anyone who loses a child probably wants to die and be with them… But with the right help, she could have got through it," she shared.
Her brother John said he dismissed the idea at first: “I thought there's no way anybody could possibly go through with it, given the circumstances.”
They both believed Anne was simply on holiday in Switzerland when the truth emerged in her letters. As they scrambled to trace her whereabouts, they emailed Pegasos for answers but got silence at first.
“She is my sister. Please tell me if she is there," Delia pleaded. "We just want to know where she is, if she did it, or will come home to us.”
Seven agonizing hours after another urgent plea which read: “Yes or No: Is my sister deceased or not?!” - the clinic finally confirmed that Anne "chose to die".
“She died gently and not alone. I hope her letters help you to accept this,” they wrote. “All official papers and her urn will be sent to her brother John.”
Delia responded to the clinic: “This was NOT the right decision for her," but they doubled down in an email, saying: “Anne no longer wanted to live, she felt alone and superfluous. She also did not want to grow old. This is a free decision of a free person.”
The family was stunned that Pegasos hadn’t contacted them earlier, especially after the clinic promised to change its policies following a similar case just last year.
Alistair Hamilton, a British chemistry teacher with no known illness, also ended his life at Pegasos in 2023 without telling his loved ones.
His mother, Judith, 82, called the clinic’s actions “despicable” and said: “I am extremely angry. I cannot believe that despite what we were told, Pegasos have acted in the same heartless, cruel manner as they did when Alistair died."
Back then, Pegasos owner Ruedi Habegger had reportedly promised to phone families before carrying out assisted suicides. Judith said he vowed to dial loved ones on speakerphone if someone arrived alone. That never happened in Anne’s case.
Pegasos charges clients around 10,000 CHF (about $11,100) for what it calls death with minimal "bureaucracy,” including cremation and shipping of ashes.
Their process includes fitting a cannula to the patient’s arm, with a drug infusion triggered by the person themselves. Even tetraplegic clients can administer it, using what the clinic describes as “an ingenious device that requires a simple bump.”
The clinic also offers Spotify playlists so clients can choose their final soundtrack. Friends, family, and pets are welcome to attend the “gentle end of life".
Despite its promises, Pegasos did not inform Anne’s family. The clinic told outlets that it had tried to contact John before her death, but he insisted he received no communication.
Delia said the clinic’s actions have “absolutely devastated the family… It has destroyed us.” John added: “Why do they possibly think they have the right to do these things without contacting her family? It just seems evil to me… not to give us a chance to speak to her.”
Two of Anne’s friends reportedly said she had a right to die without telling her family, but her loved ones disagree.
Dyfed Powys Police confirmed it’s investigating the circumstances of Anne’s death. A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said, “We are supporting the family of a British woman who died in Switzerland and are in contact with the local authorities.”