The first person to use a suicide pod in Switzerland was found with strangulation marks on her neck, it has been reported.
A 64-year-old American woman died inside the capsule on September 23 after pushing a button with inject nitrogen gas into the chamber near a forest cabin in Merishausen.
Several people have since been arrested, including Dr Florian Willet, the president of the operator of Sarco, The Last Resort.
He was the only person present when the mum-of-two died and described the woman’s death as ‘peaceful, fast and dignified’.
Chief prosecutor Peter Sticher raised the suspicion of ‘intentional homicide’ after suggest the woman may have been strangled, Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant reports.
According to a forensic doctor, the woman suffered serious neck injuries but there has been no official autopsy report.
The capsule, made by Sarco, is designed to allow a person inside to push a button that injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber.
The person is then supposed to fall asleep and die by suffocation after ten minutes.
The woman was reportedly diagnosed with skull base osteomyelitis, which is a severe auto-immune disease.
Creator Dr Philip Nitschke, who has been dubbed as ‘Doctor Death’ by critics, said those inside the pod will hear a message after entering the pod to end their lives.
In the 3D-printed capsule, users will hear a voice which says: ‘If you want to die, press this button’.
Dutch newspaper Volkskrant reported on Tuesday that police had detained one of its photographers who wanted to take pictures of the use of the Sarco.
Voluntary assisted suicide, in which somebody is given the means to end their own life, has long been legal in Switzerland.
However, Swiss tabloid Blick reports that the Schaffhausen public prosecutor’s office is threatening anyone who uses the pod to assist in the death of someone in the canton, akin to a county, with five years in jail.
Prosecutor Sticher warned creator Nitschke that he would face ‘serious legal consequences’ if the device was used in the region.
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