After ‘Suicide Capsule’ Is Used for First Time in Woman’s Death, Swiss Police Arrest Multiple People

Police in Switzerland have said in a news release that “several” people have been detained after the first reported use of a 3D-printed “suicide capsule,” a device designed to put its passenger to sleep before suffocating the person to death.

Police in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, wrote in a news release Tuesday that “the public prosecutor’s office of the canton of Schaffhausen has opened criminal proceedings against several persons for incitement and aiding and abetting suicide” and that “several persons have been placed in police custody.”

The release says that the public prosecutor’s office was informed late Monday afternoon that a person had died inside the so-called “Sacro” capsule, marking the first reported use of the machine.

BBC reported in 2021 that the pod was invented by Dr. Philip Nitschke, a proponent of allowing assisted suicide who been dubbed “Dr. Death” because of his work.

Nitschke’s “Sacro” pod has drawn intense legal debate in Switzerland and around the globe.

The pod is designed to allow a person to sit in a reclining position and push a button which releases nitrogen gas into its sealed chamber, putting the person to sleep before suffocating them in a matter of minutes, according to reports by The Associated Press, BBC, and the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC).

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The outlets reported Tuesday that the 64-year-old woman who died in Monday’s inaugural use of the suicide pod was an American citizen from the Midwest.

Schaffhausen police said Tuesday that the deceased woman was taken in for an autopsy after forensics teams secured the first hut in Merishausen, Switzerland, about 40 miles north of Zurich, where her death took place.

“The public prosecutor’s office is also investigating the violation of other criminal offenses,” the news release said.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.