Creator of controversial suicide pod finally breaks silence on reports that first user was found with strangulation marks

Dr Philip Nitschke has spoken out about the recent controversy surrounding his suicide pods.

Nitschke is a former physician and founder of the pro-euthanasia group Exit International.

He is also the creator of a suicide pod he has dubbed 'Dr Death', which was used by an American woman who traveled to Switzerland in September.

The unnamed American was 64 years old, and had been diagnosed with a severely compromised immune system.

She used the pod in late September as a means of dying. Her final words were to Florian Willet, co-president of The Last Resort (Switzerland's newest assisted suicide organization). She asked him if she should leave her shoes on or not.

But away from the ongoing controversy that surrounds assisted suicide, the 64-year-old woman was said to have been found with strangulation marks on her neck after she died.

As well as this, the pods haven't been legally cleared for use in Switzerland yet, so several people have since been arrested - Willet included.

The Sarco assisted suicide capsule was created by Dr Philip Nitschke (ARND WIEGMANN/AFP via Getty Images)

A statement from Schaffhausen Police read: "The public prosecutor's office of the canton of Schaffhausen has opened criminal proceedings against several persons for incitement, aiding and abetting suicide (Article 115 of the Swiss Criminal Code) resulting in several persons being placed in police custody.

"The public prosecutor's office of the canton of Schaffhausen was informed on Monday, September 23, 2024 at 4:40 p.m. by a law firm that an assisted suicide with the Sarco capsule had taken place in the afternoon at a forest hut in Merishausen.

"As a result, the Schaffhausen police, including the forensic emergency service, and the public prosecutor's office of the canton of Schaffhausen went to the scene of the crime."

Nitschke pictured with Florian Willet earlier this year (ARND WIEGMANN/AFP via Getty Images)

Willet is currently behind bars and may remain so until a possible trial.

Nitschke has since broken his silence on the arrests, Willet's case in particular.

"We’ve got to try and do something about the fact that Florian has been stuck in prison now for about 58 days,” Nitschke said, as per ABC.

He's reportedly offered to go to Switzerland to share oxygen-level data in the capsule and video footage taken at the time the woman died.

"We will provide everything we’ve got," he added.

Regarding the strangulation speculation, Nitschke branded them as 'absurd' and insisted that 'we’ve got film that the capsule wasn’t opened'.

He also claimed that the police are yet to accept his offer of helping with the investigation.