An internationally known pro-euthanasia doctor who was under investigation for murder following the death of a woman in a nitrogen-based ‘suicide pod’ has died by suicide, it has been confirmed.
Dr Florian Willet, 47, was the only person present when a 64-year-old woman died inside a Sarco pod in a secluded wooded area near Merishausen, Switzerland. The controversial machine, developed to facilitate a peaceful and painless death using nitrogen gas, had never before been used in a real-life setting.
The woman, whose name has not been publicly disclosed, was found inside the pod last year with signs of asphyxiation and what authorities described as “strangulation marks” on her neck — a detail that raised red flags with local prosecutors.
Dr Willet contacted police immediately after her death, but was swiftly arrested in September 2024 on suspicion of intentional homicide.
Willet, a staunch supporter of voluntary assisted suicide, was president of The Last Resort — a euthanasia advocacy group responsible for operating the Sarco pod in Switzerland.
His death was confirmed this week, although it occurred on May 5, following what friends described as a months-long mental health deterioration.
Despite Switzerland’s legal framework allowing assisted suicide under strict conditions, the use of the Sarco pod has triggered fierce legal and ethical debate.
Prosecutors in Schaffhausen said Willet had been explicitly warned that operating the pod could lead to legal consequences.
Schaffhausen’s chief prosecutor, Peter Sticher, said in a statement last year: “We warned them in writing. We said that if they came to Schaffhausen and used Sarco, they would face criminal consequences.”
The arrest and detention of Dr Willet had a profound psychological impact on him, according to Sarco pod inventor Dr Philip Nitschke.
Speaking after Willet’s death, Nitschke said his colleague had been hospitalised twice for psychiatric care after spending several weeks in pre-trial detention.
“Florian was not the same after being released from custody in December 2024,” Nitschke told M10News. “He had lost his confidence, his composure, his joy. The experience broke something inside him.”
Dr Nitschke said Willet had been injured earlier this year after falling from the third floor of his apartment in Zurich — an incident believed to be a suicide attempt — and had remained under the care of a specialised end-of-life organisation until his death in May.
He said Willet had developed a severe psychosis triggered by the trauma of his arrest and detention, adding: “No one was surprised when the news came.
Florian’s spirit had been crushed. He always believed he was acting lawfully and ethically. But in the end, his faith in the system evaporated.”
The Sarco pod — designed to induce a painless death via oxygen deprivation in a nitrogen-filled capsule — has been at the centre of ongoing controversy. While the device received initial approval for use in Switzerland, prosecutors are now considering banning its use entirely, citing the legal grey area surrounding its deployment.
Human rights and end-of-life groups are now calling for an independent review of the criminal investigation that followed the woman’s death and the treatment of Dr Willet during his detention.
“This is a tragic loss — of both the woman who chose to die, and the man who tried to help her do so with dignity,” said one supporter of The Last Resort. “We must ask ourselves what kind of society criminalises those who provide compassion at the end of life.”
Dr Willet leaves behind no immediate family, but is remembered by colleagues and supporters as a thoughtful, principled man who dedicated his life to fighting for autonomy in death.
His death has reignited debate over how far euthanasia laws should go, the psychological toll of criminal investigations, and whether Switzerland, long seen as a haven for assisted dying, is adequately supporting those operating on the ethical frontier.
