Truth about how woman who died in Sarco suicide pod got those 'strangulation marks' - and why I'm now coming to Britain: Its inventor 'Dr Death' in world-first interview

It has hardly been the astir auspicious of starts for Dr Philip Nitschke, the arguable Australian connected a ngo to revolutionise the mode we die.

His futuristic termination pod the Sarco (short for sarcophagus), dubbed 'the Tesla of euthanasia', has been confiscated by police. And 1 of his closest associates is inactive being held successful custody portion the circumstances surrounding the decease of their archetypal 'customer' continues to beryllium investigated.

Yet the antheral known arsenic 'Dr Death' for his chilling invention is acold from deterred by these setbacks.

In his archetypal extended interrogation since the Sarco's maiden voyage, not lone does helium uncover that a Sarco people 3 is present successful production, helium says that the lessons learnt from the decease of the 64-year-old American pistillate successful Switzerland person helped amended the design.

And aft Parliament yesterday passed the Assisted Dying Bill (although it volition person to transverse serveral much Parliamentary hurdles earlier it becomes law), Dr Nitschke present foresees the time erstwhile helium volition bring his arguable capsule to the UK, with the Lake District mooted arsenic the cleanable determination for radical to extremity their lives.

'I'm precise pleased that it's gone successful favour,' Dr Nitschke told the Mail yesterday. 'It's a precise bully development.

'What has to hap present is hopefully a workable portion of authorities emerges.

'In presumption of the existent legalities nether the caller law, if you determine to spell and dice successful the Lake District, I accidental I don't cognize what the instrumentality would say,' helium told the Mail this week. 'I accidental it's wholly up to you if you privation to beryllium looking astatine the water oregon whether you privation to beryllium successful your ain small bedsit successful South London. The instrumentality is surely portable. You tin instrumentality it to wherever you tin enactment it and ascent in.'

This is the archetypal clip Dr Nitschke, 77, has spoken astatine magnitude to a British paper since his workfellow and caput of The Last Resort, Florian Willet, was arrested and taken into custody successful the aftermath of Sarco's debut 2 months ago.

Willet remains successful situation successful Schaffhausen adjacent the Swiss borderline with Germany, wherever inmates walk 23 hours a time successful solitary confinement.

What Dr Nitschke has to accidental astir this is striking, not slightest due to the fact that helium insists the Swiss authorities person not asked for – nor, arsenic acold arsenic helium knows, seen – video footage recorded of the Sarco successful use.

If true, this is perplexing fixed a signaling should supply a ocular and audio grounds of what happened.

Also funny is Dr Nitschke's assertion astir the 'strangulation' marks reportedly recovered connected the cervix of the pistillate who died wrong the capsule; helium says if specified marks existed past the astir apt mentation is that they were caused erstwhile the pistillate was removed from the Sarco by Swiss authorities, aft her decease was reported by Florian Willet.

The forthright Australian is, helium says, 'extremely annoyed', astatine what helium presumption 'an utmost over-reaction by the Swiss authorities to a idiosyncratic who has behaved successful each mode successful accordance with Swiss law'. 'There's inactive nary autopsy report,' helium says. 'And we're conscionable stuck successful immoderate hopeless benignant of limbo.

'In presumption of the actions of the prosecutor, determination seems to beryllium astir thing happening. They don't look to person responded to our connection to spell to Switzerland to beryllium questioned. So they don't look to privation to speech to me, and I can't look to bash thing to get them to merchandise Florian.'

The events that enactment the 47-year-old lawyer, economist and assisted dying campaigner Willet down bars unfolded successful September erstwhile the unnamed mother-of-two from the American midwest travelled to Switzerland to die. Her crushed for choosing this path? She is said to person been suffering from a terrible immune upset that near her successful large pain.

In a last little interview, having flown archetypal to Germany, she said of her impending death: 'I deliberation it is going to beryllium amazing.'

Her dealings with The Last Resort starring up to her demise, she said, had been 'wonderful', 'easy'.

The aftermath, of course, has been thing but. Switzerland was the evident prime of departure constituent arsenic 1 of the fewer countries wherever assisted dying is legal, provided determination is nary 'external assistance' and those who assistance them to dice bash not bash truthful for immoderate 'self-serving motive'.

Thus, the pod was transported from Dr Nitschke's store successful the Netherlands to distant woodland adjacent the colony of Merishausen, successful the bluish canton of Schaffhausen.

It was here, connected September 23, that the pistillate opened the pod utilizing an entree codification and climbed in, settling herself down connected a bladed mat with a cushion astatine her head.

Next came a bid of questions to corroborate she knew what she was doing. There was reportedly nary hesitation successful pressing the activation fastener that flooded the sealed enclosure with nitrogen, starving her of oxygen.

'She was precise committed,' says Dr Nitschke. 'This was a idiosyncratic who, aft climbing in, consecutive distant pressed the button. She could person sat determination for 3 hours reasoning astir it, but she instantly pressed the button.'

Dr Nitschke notably wasn't contiguous erstwhile the decease took place. Instead, helium 'observed' remotely.

What happened is inactive being probed. According to Willet, who was present, her decease was 'peaceful, accelerated and dignified' and everything went 'according to plan'.

But footage seen by Dutch paper De Volkskrant, taken by cameras some wrong and extracurricular the capsule, would look to archer a antithetic story.

A graphic statement of what took spot has emerged: the infinitesimal she climbed wrong astatine 3.50pm; the piercing alarm astatine 4.01pm, thought to person been caused by the bosom complaint monitor; the infinitesimal Willet told Nitschke (who was watching connected video nexus from Germany): 'She's inactive live Philip.' It was lone aft 30 tense minutes that Florian said: 'She truly looks dead,' astatine which constituent helium called the police.

Dr Nitschke, who lives successful the Netherlands with his woman Fiona Stewart, a manager of The Last Resort, insists this was arsenic 'peaceful' arsenic it was intended to be.

But arsenic Sarco's astir salient champion, questions person been raised arsenic to wherefore helium wasn't contiguous astatine the clip the pod was deployed. He denies that his departure had thing to bash with ineligible risk. 'I had a league that I was expected to beryllium speaking to, rather a large league successful Budapest,' helium says.

'I had spent 2 days installing the instrumentality and past I had precise small clip to get backmost to Amsterdam to get the worldly I needed to get to Budapest, truthful I acceptable disconnected consecutive aft it was installed and I was successful Germany connected my mode to Amsterdam [when the Sarco pod was used].

'As it was, I inactive didn't person capable clip and damn astir missed my presentation.

'The thought was that I would marque the instrumentality workable and disposable to the Last Resort and they would marque each the decisions, and they did.'

His bureau successful Haarlem extracurricular Amsterdam, wherever his right-to-die advocacy radical Exit International is based, was raided by Dutch police, astatine the petition of the Swiss authorities. But nary further enactment has been taken.

'It's ludicrous and implicit rubbish,' helium declares to suggest immoderate foul play.

He elaborated further connected a podcast with his woman this week, erstwhile helium said: 'We've got documentary grounds for everything. We've got movie showing that she walked in, climbed into the Sarco unassisted. We saw video movie of her pressing the button.

'We've got the hint of the oxygen level wrong the capsule, truthful we cognize precisely erstwhile it reached 0.5 per cent. We besides cognize erstwhile she mislaid consciousness and we person a bully estimation due to the fact that of a cardiac alarm erstwhile she died.

'So we person each that material. The extracurricular of the capsule was being recorded, the wrong of the capsule was being video recorded. She was not interfered with, touched or, successful different words, had thing different than the information that she herself was successful an situation that was incompatible with beingness and she died peacefully.'

He bristles astatine what's happened to his colleague. 'The information that the authorities were prepared to apprehension him and support him successful situation for 9 weeks, but besides to apprehension our lawyers and a photographer, smacks of a hysterical over-reaction connected the portion of the authorities,' helium says.

'We inactive don't cognize what's driven that utmost reaction. Obviously determination are immoderate almighty radical who don't similar the thought of the Sarco. We're offering a escaped work and democratising the process and I conjecture that whitethorn person upset immoderate people.'

Despite each this, enactment connected a caller Sarco continues apace.

'It's being printed close now,' says Dr Nitschke. 'We've made a fig of improvements – it's a overmuch amended version.'

In a chilling admission, helium reveals helium has modified the plan owed to the lessons learnt successful Switzerland, which takes america backmost to those funny marks spotted connected the American woman's neck.

'She climbed successful unassisted and the capsule was not opened [after she died] and the constabulary rung. So if determination was immoderate outer wounded it indispensable person been done aft the constabulary turned up and opened the capsule,' helium asserts.

The caller design, helium says, volition instrumentality this into account.

'It's going to person a overmuch bigger opening canopy,' helium explains. 'One of the imaginable suggestions is that to effort to get a dormant idiosyncratic retired of the existing 1 is rather hard and that whitethorn person caused immoderate benignant of injury. It's casual capable if you're alive, but if you're dormant it's not that casual for idiosyncratic other to resistance you out.

'The caller 1 volition person overmuch much of a full opening, truthful it volition beryllium overmuch easier to get into and retired of.' The ongoing probe and furore surrounding events successful September person besides not diminished involvement successful the capsule.

Dr Nitschke says that though applications person been paused for the clip being, determination has been a flood of emails to The Last Resort.

Of the 380 applications helium had already received from astir the globe, 23 are from Britons. Among them is ex-RAF technologist Peter Scott and his woman Christine, some successful their 80s, who signed up to beryllium the archetypal mates to usage a treble termination pod aft Christine was diagnosed with vascular dementia.

'I don't cognize if we'll beryllium capable to usage it successful Switzerland depending connected however the Swiss move, but 1 of the Dutch assisted dying organisations present person made an statement to spot if they tin marque usage of the instrumentality wherever they person a associated purchase,' helium adds. 'They are presently exploring their presumption successful Dutch law.'

As for the UK, Dr Nitschke welcomed yesterday's historical vote, which saw MPs determine successful favour of the Assisted Dying Bill.

What does this mean for the usage of the Sarco implicit here?

'That remains unresolved. We request to committee immoderate ineligible sentiment astir that,' helium says.

'But my knowing astatine this signifier connected a superficial level – it looks similar there's nary problem.

'So present it's a substance of trying to marque definite that is the lawsuit and then, if that is the situation, it's a substance of uncovering idiosyncratic who wants to usage the Sarco and past conscionable the different requirements to enactment it successful place.

Dr Nitschke says if the Bill did yet walk into British law, 'we would surely marque the instrumentality disposable for usage successful the UK'.

Should the Sarco get the greenish light, helium believes determination volition beryllium nary shortage successful demand.

'We've got tons of applications. We've contacted them all, and these are radical who were primitively readying to travel to Switzerland to usage it.

'But a fig of radical from the UK now, if of people it were capable to beryllium utilized successful the UK, they would surely not privation to beryllium making a travel to Switzerland.'

Where precisely would the Sarco beryllium deployed? Somewhere 'beautiful' similar the Lake District, helium says.

'For radical who person got that prime of picking the time and the time... it is the astir important time of your life, presumably – the time you die.

'If you privation to beryllium overlooking the lakes oregon the mountains oregon looking astatine whatever, there's nary crushed wherefore they shouldn't beryllium accommodated. Certainly, the Sarco tin bash that.'

But doesn't this each dependable a small excessively public? 'You surely don't privation passing bushwalkers oregon strollers,' helium admits.

A backstage forest, present that's a bully place, Dr Nitschke says, insisting that he, too, would 'enthusiastically' usage the machine.

'The thought is that radical should prime their ain place. We find that radical truly bash privation to person a choice.'

And if this chilling caller world does so travel to pass, Dr Nitschke volition beryllium lone to blessed to supply the means.