Blick, 11 August 2024
According to the NZZ, the 55-year-old American woman, who was the first to die in the suicide capsule, made serious accusations against the euthanasia organisation in a letter.
Now documents show that she made the opposite statements shortly beforehand.
Three weeks ago, Exit International and The Last Resort presented the Sarco suicide capsule to the media writes Joschka Schaffner.
Jessica Campbell* (†55) left behind serious accusations in a letter. The American reported that she had been financially exploited by the euthanasia organisation Exit International and the Sarco bosses Fiona Stewart (58) and Florian Willet (47) from The Last Resort and had been pressured into public relations work from the outset.
For example, she was completely overwhelmed by the expensive hotel bookings that Stewart made for her. In addition, Stewart and Willet insisted on charging their own expenses to Campbell’s credit card in Switzerland.
And even when Campbell wanted to travel to Scotland to scatter her parents’ ashes, she had to pay for her companion Stewart’s expenses.
Contradictory Statements
The American was to be the first person to die at Sarco.
She was severely overweight and in a wheelchair due to a kidney condition and a nerve disease. She decided she no longer wanted to live like this. And contacted Exit International in the summer of 2023. But death in the Sarco did not happen.
Contact between The Last Resort and Campbell ended on 11 July, just under a week before it was scheduled to take place.
Documents obtained by Blick show: Campbell’s statements before and after contact was broken off clearly contradict each other on several points.
Text messages show Campbell’s wishes for luxury overnight stays.
The Last Resort also repeatedly pointed out the high costs to Campbell.
And companion Stewart also covered her share of the costs for the trip to Scotland herself, as excerpts show.
During her time in Switzerland, Ms Campbell also recorded numerous video diaries in which she repeatedly expressed her positive opinion of the organisation and support provided by Stewart and Willet.
She was also interested in direct contact with several journalists. The Sarco candidate was also expressly in favour of filming for a documentary – for example during her trip on the Glacier Express.
Sarco bosses felt caught off guard by media enquiry
The “NZZ” article lacks this evidence. An omission? “We stand by our account,” the newspaper said in response to an enquiry from Blick.
As can be seen in the report, Exit International had the opportunity to comment on the allegations. Florian Willet criticises that they were taken by surprise by the newspaper’s accusations.
Up to that point, they had not known whether Campbell was still in Switzerland at all.
There are differing opinions as to why the break-up ultimately occurred and why Campbell expressed the opposite view. According to Stewart and Willet, Campbell’s mental state deteriorated during her time in Zermatt VS. As a result, she was ultimately denied access to the Sarco.
Campbell herself felt threatened by numerous media reports about the criminal consequences of using the Sarco. She therefore broke off contact with The Last Resort on 11 July. Text messages obtained by Blick seem to confirm this.
What caused the rift?
According to Campbell’s letter, she felt lied to by Exit International’s media hype. “If I had known that the deeply heartless people who held my fate in their hands were mainly driven by their own media presence and marketing, I would never have put myself through this ordeal,” the Sarco candidate writes in the letter.
Willet and Stewart were not aware of this decision, they say. However, they are unable to explain why a carer who was in Zermatt with Campbell disappeared with her.
One day after contact was broken off, on 12 July, Exit International boss Philip Nitschke called the carer. According to his own account, to inform him that Campbell’s access to Sarco would be revoked.
“Contrary to the earlier review, I have seen episodes of cognitive derailment in recent weeks, in one case bordering on psychosis,” Nitschke wrote to the NZZ.
Two weeks later, Campbell died. She used the services of another euthanasia organisation.
According to Willet, The Last Resort only learnt of this after a missing person’s report had been submitted following the media enquiry from the NZZ.
