First “Suicide Pod” Death Results in Multiple Arrests

An American woman has become the first to use the Sarco suicide machine in Switzerland despite the fact that its illegality was confirmed hours before her death, resulting in the arrest of four people. 

According to reports, a 64-year-old American woman ended her life using the 3D-printed suicide machine in a forest near the German border in Merishausen, Switzerland on Monday 23 September.

On the same day, reportedly only hours before the unnamed American woman died, the head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, when asked a question in the Swiss Parliament about the legality of the Sarco machine, confirmed that the use of the Sarco machine in Switzerland was prohibited.

Baume-Schneider said it “is not legal in two respects. Firstly, it does not meet the requirements of product safety law and may therefore not be placed on the market. Secondly, the corresponding use of nitrogen is not compatible with the purpose article of the Chemicals Act”.

Despite the ban, and a warning from Schaffhausen Public Prosecutor Peter Sticher, the assisted suicide went ahead.

According to the Times, four people were arrested in relation to the use of the Sarco machine including Florian Willet, the co-president of The Last Resort, an assisted suicide group which says it “is the only accompanied suicide service in Switzerland where the 3D-printed Sarco capsule will be used”.  Two members of Willet’s legal team and a photographer were also arrested. 

A statement from Schaffhausen Police suggests they have been charged with aiding and abetting a suicide, and police are also exploring whether other offenses have been committed.

Each of those arrested were associates of Philip Nitschke, the inventor of the Sarco suicide machine.

Nitschke, founder of the suicide advocacy group Exit International, originally introduced the device, which he calls the “Sarco machine”, in 2019. In an interview with SWI swissinfo.ch given in 2021, Nitschke said “It’s a 3-D printed capsule, activated from the inside by the person intending to die. The machine can be towed anywhere for the death”.