The 47-year-old was present when the Sarco suicide capsule was first used in Switzerland in September 2024 and had been placed in pre-trial detention for 70 days. The death was announced in an obituaryExternal link published yesterday on the website of The Last Resort.
Willet, who lived in Zurich, was the only person present when an American woman took her own life in a forest near Merishausen in canton Schaffhausen on September 23, 2024. The public prosecutor’s office in Schaffhausen had subsequently ordered preventive detention against him and had also opened criminal proceedings against other people.
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Swiss authorities release right-to-die activist in Sarco ‘suicide capsule’ case
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A right-to-die activist has been released from police custody over the reported first use of the Sarco “suicide capsule”, after prosecutors ruled out the possibility of an intentional homicide.
The public prosecutor’s office believed that Willet might have killed the woman because the capsule had not worked as intended. However, the suspicion was not confirmed and the man was released in early December 2024.
The proceedings against the deceased will be discontinued, Peter Sticher, first prosecutor of canton Schaffhausen, announced to the Keystone-SDA agency this morning. The investigation opened against the other persons involved has not yet been concluded.
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After the first ‘Sarco pod’ death, will Switzerland introduce stricter rules for assisted suicide?
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The first death to come about using the Sarco capsule has reignited debate on whether assisted dying should be more tightly regulated in Switzerland.
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