Assisted suicide activist appears to have died by suicide.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Florian Willet with Philip Nitschke

Florian Willet, who was the co-chair of the last-resort suicide organization, reportedly died by suicide last month in Cologne Germany “with the help of a specialised organisation”.

The suicide death of Willet is tragic, but I recognize that Willet was not terminally ill or physically suffering, but rather it was stated that: “Florian’s spirit was broken.” after serving 70 days in jail after being arrested in the "suicide pod" death of a 64-year-old unnamed American woman.

On September 24, 2024 I published an article stating that the Swiss police had made arrests related to the Sarco suicide pod. Willet was one of the participants who was arrested and held in jail in the Sarco suicide pod death, while Swiss police investigated.

The Sarco suicide pod kills a person by releasing nitrogen gas into the pod causing the person to die of asphyxiation. On September 29, 2024 I published an article explaining why the Sarco suicide pod method constitutes torture.

Miriam Kuepper and Elena Salvoni reported for the Daily Mail, on October 28, 2024 that strangulation marks were found on the 64-year-old American woman who died in the Sarco death pod. 

The investigation related to the strangulation marks ended when the strangulation marks were attributed to the jerking of the victims muscles and her arms while she was dying of asphyxiation.

An article by Adam Sage that was published by the Times on June 3, 2025 stated that:

A euthanasia activist who was arrested for providing a suicide pod in which a woman took her own life in Switzerland last year has died after developing a psychotic disorder.

Florian Willet, 47, is thought to have taken his own life. He was a “broken” man after spending 70 days in custody in connection with the death of an American woman in a specially-designed capsule in a Swiss forest, according to The Last Resort, the right-to-die association he jointly chaired.

Sage further explained that:

Swiss prosecutors initially suspected Willet of murder after discovering strangulation marks on the neck of the first user of the capsule — a 64-year-old American suffering from skull base osteomyelitis. He was the only person beside the pod when she died.

Although he was released from detention in December when prosecutors discounted the murder allegation, the investigation has continued into claims that he and other people close to The Last Resort incited the pod user to take their own life.

The Last resort assisted suicide group claimed that Willet was a victim. Sage wrote:

The Last Resort sought to depict Willet as a victim of Swiss justice. A statement from the organisation said: “He knew that he did nothing illegal or wrong, but his belief in the rule of law in Switzerland was in tatters. In the final months of his life, Dr Florian Willet shouldered more than any man should. Florian has now paid the ultimate price — his life — for his compassion.”

Willet's death is tragic but he was not a victim and certainly not a hero. His death underlines the goals of the assisted suicide lobby. He died with the assistance of a "specialised organization" even though he was not terminally ill and was experiencing a treatable condition. The goal of Philip Nitschke and the assisted suicide lobby, as stated by Wesley Smith is:

Death on demand, for any reason, at any time, by anyone — with the possible exception of children — and assisted by whomever for any reason. This is the ultimate destination of the euthanasia movement, whether by design or simple logical consequence.

The Sarco suicide pod was invented by Philip Nitschke, who had lost his medical license in Australia. A 64-year-old American woman died in the Sarco pod in connection to The Last Resort Swiss assisted suicide group that was led by Florian Willett, a former spokesperson for the euthanasia group Dignitas and Fiona Stewart, the wife of Philip Nitschke.