- A well-known euthanasia activist [pictured here] has died by suicide months after his arrest in connection with the first recorded use of a Sarco suicide pod.
Florian Willet, 47, was arrested last year in Switzerland following the death of a 64-year-old American woman who used the nitrogen-filled device to end her life in a remote cabin. He was accused of aiding and abetting suicide and, initially, strangulation.
He was released from custody in December after officials ruled out intentional homicide. The experience left Willet emotionally distraught, according to those who knew him.
His death by suicide was confirmed last month by Dr. Philip Nitschke, the director of Exit International, the group that developed the Sarco pods. Willet led The Last Resort, a partner organization that advocates for euthanasia rights.
“Gone was his warm smile and self-confidence. In its place was a man who seemed deeply traumatized by the experience of incarceration and the wrongful accusation of strangulation,” Nitschke told Dutch outlet Volkskrant.
