Founder of Group That Helped Woman Die in ‘Suicide Pod’ Dies by Suicide
His organization, the Last Resort, says Florian Willet was ‘traumatized’ by his 70 days in jail.
An assisted suicide advocate who was arrested in connection in the death of an American woman in a unique “suicide pod” has died by assisted suicide.
Florian Willet was the founder of the Switzerland-based organization, the Last Resort, that helped a 64-year-old woman use a “Sarco” pod to end her life. Willet was taken into custody as part of the investigation into the woman’s September death.
Willet was the only person present when she died and authorities claimed that the 3-D printed machine had not worked. Prosecutors alleged that Willet had strangled the woman instead. He was held for 70 days in pretrial detention until his sudden release on December 2, even though the charges were not dropped.
The Last Resort, in an online tribute, said Willet was a “changed man” after his release. “Gone was his warm smile and self-confidence,” the tribute stated. “In its place was a man who was deeply traumatized by the experience of incarceration and the wrongful accusation of strangulation.”
About a month later he was found badly injured after a plunge from the third floor of his Zurich apartment building. He spent three months undergoing surgery and rehabilitation in Switzerland. He also was admitted to a psychiatric hospital twice.
Willet died in Germany on May 5 but the Last Resort didn’t release the information until this week. The inventor of the Sarco capsule, Philip Nitschke, told the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant that Willet died by assisted suicide, but the method of his death was not released.
“He knew that he did nothing illegal or wrong, but his belief in the rule of law in Switzerland was in tatters,” the Last Resort stated. “Florian has now paid the ultimate price — his life — for his compassion.”
The Last Resort has paused the use of the Sarco pod, which was designed to create a low-oxygen environment that can bring on a feeling of mild euphoria before a person dies, because Swiss authorities confiscated the device.
The organization claimed it had received more than 370 applications from people who wanted to use the device before operations were suspended. It is unclear if the device will be returned or used again. An investigation by Swiss authorities continues.
