Tragic descent of the man who watched first Sarco pod suicide

Assisted dying campaigner Dr Florian Willet was the only person to witness the first Sarco pod death - watching as a gravely ill American woman entered the suicide machine and pushed a button to end her life.

Her death, triggered when nitrogen gas flooded into the sealed chamber, was successful in the eyes of Willet and Sarco inventor Dr Philip Nitschke, who watched it via video link and described the woman's passing as 'peaceful'.

But that day marked the beginning of a dark decline for Willet, who was arrested when dozens of police officers arrived at the scene in northern Switzerland and placed him in pre-trial detention.

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