What really happened in Sarco suicide pod? Chilling claims after woman's post-mortem, the mysterious alarm and questions over why it took her 30 minutes to die as chief is arrested: PAUL BRACCHI investigates

From nan extracurricular nan situation successful Schaffhausen, adjacent nan Swiss separator pinch Germany, looks much for illustration an Alpine hotel. But nary 1 should beryllium nether immoderate illusion: nan authorities present is acold from soft.

The 40 aliases truthful inmates, being held chiefly connected remand, walk 23 hours a time successful solitary confinement successful a compartment pinch conscionable a bed, basin and toilet. One of them is nan improbable fig of Florian Willet, who has conscionable begun his sixth week successful custody.

His backstory, which was arguable moreover earlier he was incarcerated, is quickly developing, metaphorically speaking, into thing resembling a Netflix series, fixed nan developments of nan past week.

The 47-year-old is co-president of The Last Resort, nan operators of nan futuristic 'suicide capsule' known arsenic nan Sarco (short for sarcophagus).

It was connected September 23, successful woods astir 5 miles from nan prison, that a female – a 64-year-old mother of 2 from nan American midwest – became nan first personification to extremity her life successful nan sealed enclosure by pressing a fastener wrong which flooded nan pod pinch nitrogen, frankincense starving her of oxygen. Her death, Willet declared to nan world, was 'peaceful, accelerated and dignified' and everything went 'according to plan'.

Despite this Willet – a lawyer, economist and personnel of high-IQ nine Mensa, arsenic good arsenic an assisted dying campaigner – is now banged up, to put it bluntly.

A disturbing mobility now hangs complete his arrest: were strangulation marks recovered connected nan woman's cervix erstwhile forensic officers removed her assemblage from nan capsule?

The allegation, which was reported to person been made by nan nationalist charismatic successful tribunal and made headlines successful nan Swiss Press this week, was made aft marks were allegedly discovered during a post-mortem examination.

The nationalist prosecutor, who is said to person raised nan suspicion of 'intentional homicide' to get a judge to widen custody, refused to corroborate aliases contradict nan reports, which The Last Resort called 'ridiculous and absurd'.

Nevertheless, nan imbroglio, together pinch further specifications that person emerged astir nan woman's haunting past moments, has added to nan increasing contention surrounding nan Sarco capsule which has been dubbed nan Tesla Of Euthanasia.

But why should immoderate of this interest america present successful Britain?

Firstly, location are 120 applicants waiting to usage nan Sarco – according to The Last Resort – and a 4th of them are said to travel from nan UK, including ex-RAF technologist Peter Scott and his woman Christine, some successful their 80s, who person signed up to beryllium nan first mates to usage a double termination pod aft Christine was diagnosed pinch vascular dementia.

The events successful Switzerland must person filled them pinch trepidation.Secondly, nan Sarco debacle offers a sobering glimpse of what tin spell wrong, immoderate nan truth of nan 'strangulation' marks, successful nan emotionally charged rumor of assisted dying astatine a clip erstwhile a measure to springiness terminally-ill group successful England and Wales nan correct to take to extremity their life is astir to beryllium debated and voted connected for nan first clip successful Parliament connected November 29.

Dame Esther Rantzen, who has terminal cancer, and Blur drummer Dave Rowntree, whose ex-wife Paola Marra died aged 53 astatine nan Dignitas session successful Zurich successful March aft being told she had untreatable bowel cancer, are among those who person added their voices to nan run for nan rule to beryllium changed.

Switzerland is 1 of nan fewer countries wherever assisted dying is ineligible provided location is nary 'external assistance' and those who thief them to dice do not do truthful for 'any self-serving motive'.

Officially Florian Willet, who was nan only personification coming erstwhile nan American female died, is being held connected suspicion of breaking this law, Article 115 of nan Swiss Criminal Code.

The irony successful each this is that nan man who invented nan Sarco, Australian-born Dr Philip Nitschke – nicknamed Dr Death for evident reasons – near nan segment conscionable hours earlier constabulary arrived successful nan wood adjacent nan colony of Merishausen successful nan bluish canton of Schaffhausen.

Nitschke, 77 – who monitored nan play unfolding successful nan Sarco remotely from Germany – is now backmost successful Holland, wherever nan termination instrumentality was created utilizing a 3D printer and wherever he is pictured connected his houseboat pinch his woman Fiona Stewart, a head of The Last Resort, connected nan organisation's website.

The Dutch relationship is nan logic Amsterdam-based regular De Volkskrant was fixed exclusive entree to nan American's last journey. The paper's latest dispatch a fewer days ago, picked up by nan Swiss media, claimed nan scope of nan investigation into her decease had been extended to see suspicion of vorsatzliche totung aliases intentional homicide.

This statement of inquiry, nan article alleged, came to ray astatine a tribunal proceeding erstwhile main charismatic Peter Sticher is said to person suggested nan female whitethorn person been strangled. The declare was based connected a telephone telephone from a forensic intelligence to investigators a fewer hours aft she had died that she had suffered injuries to her neck.

It has not been imaginable to verify this because documents apparently containing nan information, among them nan afloat autopsy report, person not been made public.

A root adjacent to The Last Resort, however, told Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung (NZZ) that location was a much guiltless explanation: nan female had skull guidelines osteomyelitis, a achy bony infection which could person been responsible for nan marks.

Due to an immune disorder, she could not beryllium treated for nan illness which had near her successful chronic discomfort.

Either way, it would beryllium difficult to ideate much damaging headlines for a correct to dice organisation. A photographer from nan Dutch regular and 2 lawyers acting for The Last Resort – who alerted nan authorities of nan decease knowing location would request to beryllium an investigation arsenic location ever is successful specified cases – were besides arrested successful nan vicinity and detained for 48 hours connected suspicion of aiding and abetting suicide.

But, astir six weeks on, Florian Willet is still successful solitary confinement successful Schaffhausen prison.

Nor did a connection from nan charismatic connection immoderate dream that he would beryllium released immoderate clip soon.

'I tin corroborate that 1 personification is still successful custody pending trial,' Peter Sticher said ominously.

Such a lengthy play successful custody, according to Swiss ineligible experts, is different if nan only offence being investigated is for 'inducing aliases assisting personification to perpetrate termination for selfish reasons', which would beryllium difficult to beryllium successful nan circumstances.

The Last Resort – funded by donations, bequests and an yearly voluntary rank interest – does not person immoderate costs for nan usage of nan Sarco.

The American female – nan first personification to usage nan machine, retrieve – stayed successful a edifice successful Germany wherever she gave a last little question and reply earlier making nan short travel crossed nan separator into Switzerland. The question and reply was featured successful De Volkskrant.

She told really she suffered specified 'crippling headaches' that connected immoderate days she could hardly move aliases spell to nan bathroom. Her sons, she said, who did not travel her to Switzerland, were down her determination 'one 100 per cent'. 

She had antecedently tried to put her decease pinch Pegasos, different Swiss correct to dice group, but recovered preparing each nan documents they needed 'extremely clip consuming' and nan 'long waiting periods very frustrating'.

Of her impending death, she predicted: 'I deliberation it's going to beryllium amazing', pointing retired that, this way, nary expert needed to beryllium involved. She added: 'I cannot spot why this wouldn't work.

'Scientifically, it makes sense... nan acquisition has been awesome and easy and little traumatic than I expected. It's been a awesome experience.'

Hard to judge she was describing nan countdown to her past moments conscionable a fewer hours later that aforesaid day.

At nan outset nan scheme was for nan Sarco to beryllium placed successful a grove which would connection a last 'beautiful view' of greenish meadows and mountains, but hikers arrived en masse and nan capsule had to beryllium hidden nether trees successful nan forest.

The unfolding events were captured connected a video – seen by De Volkskrant – taken by cameras wrong and extracurricular nan Sarco.

The female is said to person entered nan capsule astatine 3.50pm. Willet asked her: 'Do you want to talk to Philip?' [Dr Nitschke] who was pursuing proceedings remotely from Germany.

'No,' she replied. 'I'm okay.'

'Keep connected breathing,' Willet told her from extracurricular nan Sarco aft she had pressed nan activation button. After 1 infinitesimal and 57 seconds nan soul camera, which reacts to movement, turned connected doubly successful speedy succession.

A acheronian spot appeared successful nan fogged-up model – which De Volkskrant suggests is astir most apt her knees being raised.

Willet thought this was nan consequence of her assemblage 'strongly cramping', he would later show police. The aforesaid point occurred again aft 2 and a half minutes.

At 4.01pm, Willet's iPad abruptly emitted a piercing alarm, thought to person been caused by nan woman's bosom complaint show sounding, moreover though it was now six and half minutes into nan process. 

This was explained successful nan article by nan truth that, aft losing consciousness, it takes immoderate clip earlier nan bosom yet stops. But Willet, nan insubstantial reported, seemed confused by nan sound, nonetheless.

'She's still alive, Philip,' he told Dr Nitschke, while leaning complete to look wrong nan Sarco. At this stage, Nitschke could only partially travel events from his guidelines successful Germany because of method problems.

Finally, aft 30 tense minutes, Willet believed nan female was dead. 'She had her eyes closed,' he informed Nitschke.

'And she was breathing very deeply. Then nan breathing slowed down. And past it stopped... she really looks dead.'

Is location anyone, isolated from members of The Last Resort, who deliberation her decease sounds 'peaceful, accelerated and dignified?'

In a associated cognition pinch Dutch police, Nitschke's agency successful Haarlem extracurricular Amsterdam, wherever his ain euthanasia group Exit International is based, was raided.

Nitschke, a GP successful Australia astir 2 decades ago, has a agelong and arguable way record.

One of his galore erstwhile 'inventions' was nan Exit Bag, a specially designed integrative container which created an airtight seal astir nan cervix to suffocate users.

'I dislike nan integrative bag,' he admitted astatine nan time. 'And that's why I thought: really tin we make a integrative container look much beautiful? How tin I make it a spot much glamorous and stylish?'

The consequence was nan Sarco. The termination capsule was confiscated by nan Swiss authorities, but Nitschke is now creating different one, again utilizing a 3D printer, he revealed successful a YouTube video this week.

Back successful Switzerland, his subordinate Willet speculated what he thought nan constabulary would do pursuing nan decease of nan woman, nan insubstantial reported.

'I deliberation nan chance that they will prehend nan assemblage will beryllium 99 per cent,' he said.

'And I estimate nan chance they will return nan Sarco astatine 80 per cent. The chance they will detain me, I estimate astatine 10 per cent.'

But did he cipher his ain likelihood of still being successful a situation compartment astir six weeks later?

• Additional reporting: Rob Hyde & Tim Stewart