An activist who was questioned for murder following the death of a woman who used a "suicide pod" has sadly taken his own life.
Dr. Florian Willet, the president of euthanasia advocacy group The Last Resort, was at the center of a firestorm after a 64-year-old American woman was found dead in a Sarco capsule in a forest near Merishausen, Switzerland.
Her death on September 23, 2024, was meant to demonstrate a peaceful, humane end-of-life option — but forensic findings triggered suspicions of foul play.
The pod’s inventor, Dr. Philip Nitschke, confirmed 47-year-old Willet’s death on May 5, stating that the trauma from his arrest and the murder investigation left him broken, per the Telegraph.
“When Florian was released suddenly and unexpectedly from pre-trial detention in early December 2024, he was a changed man,” said Nitschke.
“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.”
Although Switzerland allows voluntary assisted suicide, prosecutors raised concerns after forensic experts allegedly found strangulation marks on the woman’s neck.
“We found the capsule with the lifeless person inside… and brought them to the Institute of Forensic Medicine. An autopsy will be performed,” said Chief Prosecutor Peter Sticher at the time.
However, no official autopsy report has been made public, intensifying speculation.
Sticher told media in September: “We warned them in writing. We said that if they came to Schaffhausen and used Sarco, they would face criminal consequences,” per the Metro.
Despite the warning, Willet called the police himself after the woman’s death. He was detained at the scene along with two lawyers and a photographer who had documented the woman’s arrival and the pod setup.
Willet was kept in custody while officers investigated, with prosecutors announcing there was a “strong suspicion” of “intentional homicide.”
But Dr. Nitschke and The Last Resort have strongly denied wrongdoing, calling the accusation “ridiculous and absurd,” according to the Daily Mail.
Dr. Nitschke said Willet’s mental health declined rapidly after his release from detention, revealing that he had been admitted to psychiatric care twice and had “fallen” from the third floor of his Zurich home earlier this year, causing “serious damage.”
He was later euthanized “with the help of a specialised organisation.”
Nitschke said Willet had developed “an acute polymorphic psychotic disorder” due to the stress of detention and legal scrutiny. “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.”
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