Swiss police have detained several people after an American woman died using the device

Police in Switzerland announced several arrests on Tuesday after the controversial Sarco pod, nicknamed the ‘suicide capsule’, was used to end the life of a US woman in the first documented use of the device. 

The Sarco, short for sarcophagus, is a 3D-printed capsule, designed to be operated by one person who can enter the coffin-like enclosure, lie down and press a button. The device then rapidly decreases the oxygen level and pumps in nitrogen, resulting in the user’s death by hypoxia. 

According to a statement published by the Schaffhausen police department, the capsule was illegally deployed in the woods of the Merishausen municipality on Monday. Prosecutors have launched criminal proceedings against several people suspected of “inducing and aiding and abetting suicide.”  

A spokesman for the Last Resort group, which is behind the use of the pod, has explained that the device was used on a 64-year-old American woman who had been suffering from a severely compromised immune system. He added that the woman had made an audio recording stating her wish to die, and passed a psychiatric evaluation prior to ending her life. 

The spokesperson also stated that a total of four people have been arrested since the capsule was deployed – the company’s co-president Florian Willet, along with a Dutch journalist and two Swiss nationals. He added that Willet was the only person present when the woman ended her life. 

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In an official statement by The Last Resort, Willet described the death of the American woman as “peaceful, fast and dignified.”  

Philip Nitschke, the inventor of the Sarco pod, who observed the woman’s death from Germany via a monitor, has told Dutch media that the process “went well,” adding that “it looked exactly as we expected.” 

“When she got into the Sarco, she immediately pressed the button. She didn’t say anything. She really wanted to die,” the Australian suicide activist and president of the Exit International pro-euthanasia group said. 

Switzerland is one of the few countries in the world where assisted suicide is legalized but only under specific conditions. In July, the Swiss government explicitly banned the use of the Sarco pod citing a lack of reliable information regarding the method being used. Prosecutors warned Exit Switzerland that if the device was used it could lead to “serious legal consequences” and result in prison sentences of up to five years.