A right-to-die activist called allegations that a U.S. woman who died in a suicide capsule he designed had strangulation marks on her neck "absurd," according to reports.
Australian-born Dr. Philip Nitschke, the founder of Exit International, did not personally attend when the woman died Sept. 23 in the Sarco capsule in northern Switzerland but watched it on livestream, the Associated Press reported.
It was the first time the device was used.
But Florian Willet, the head of The Last Resort, the Swiss affiliate of Exit International, attended the 64-year-old woman's death and was taken into police custody while the investigation into her death continues.
Several other people, including a reporter for the Volkskrant newspaper, were also taken into custody as part of the probe but later released.
In an interview with the Swiss newspaper, Neue Zuercher Zeitung, Nitschke was asked about the strangulation marks found on the woman's neck.
"That's absurd," he said.
"This allegedly emerged from a report that came over a telephone at the time of the autopsy," Nitschke added, noting the autopsy report has not yet been released.
He said he watched as the woman climbed into the space age-looking capsule which cost about $1 million to design and build.
"The woman got into the Sarco on her own, closed the lid without help and pressed the button that released the nitrogen. She lost consciousness and died after about six minutes," Nitschke said.
He rejected allegations that the Sarco did not work properly and Willet had to intervene.
"From the time the woman got into the Sarco until the police arrived, no one opened the lid. We documented everything, including the oxygen content in the capsule, which was kept at a lethal level," he said.
Nitschke told the Associated Press that he spoke out because Willet is in custody and could remain in jail for months until a trial.
"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, adding that he offered to travel to Switzerland to speak to investigators and provide documentation.
"We will provide everything we've got," he said, but noted that prosecutors "have not accepted that suggestion."
According to Swiss law, a person can take his or her life without "external assistance" and as long those who assist cannot be doing it for "any self-serving motive," the AP reported.
