Swiss authorities release right-to-die activist after ruling out homicide in 'suicide capsule' case

GENEVA (AP) — Swiss prosecutors said a right-to-die activist was released Monday after more than two months in police custody over the reported first use of a so-called “suicide capsule,” after they ruled out the possibility of an intentional homicide.

Florian Willet, head of advocacy group The Last Resort, was released by authorities in the northern Schaffhausen region, where a 64-year-old U.S. woman in late September was said to be the first user of the Sarco suicide capsule, a sealed chamber that releases gas at the press of a button.

Authorities detained four people, but initially only released three of them — holding Willet on suspicion that the woman, who was not identified, might not have committed suicide but could have been killed.

EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org. The Swiss government refers queries about suicide prevention to a group called “Dargebotene Hand,” or The Offered Hand.

A statement Monday from prosecutors said a criminal case was opened on Sept. 23, the day of the woman’s death, for suspected “inciting and abetting suicide” and a “strong suspicion of the commission of an intentional homicide.”

Although an autopsy report from experts in neighboring Zurich was not yet available, investigators no longer suspect intentional homicide, though there is “strong suspicion of the crime of inciting and abetting suicide," the statement said.

The statement said the suspect was released from custody though it didn't identify the suspect by name. Willet previously has spoken repeatedly to The Associated Press before his arrest and his colleagues have spoken out publicly in his defense in hopes of securing his release.

Prosecutors gave no further details, including whether the suspect was released conditionally and faced a continued criminal investigation over suspected incitement of suicide.

Calls by The AP to Willet’s mobile phone were not immediately answered.

Sarco developer Philip Nitschke of Exit International, a right-to-die group affiliated with The Last Resort, has said the allegations that the woman might have been strangled were “absurd. Nitschke said he watched by video during the woman’s death, in a wood in the Schaffhausen region near the German border, and that the device worked as planned.

The Sarco was designed to allow a person sitting in its reclining seat to push a button that injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber. The person is then supposed to fall unconscious and die by suffocation in a few minutes.

Swiss law allows assisted suicide so long as the person takes his or her life with no “external assistance” and those who help the person die do not do so for “any self-serving motive,” says a government website.

Switzerland is among the only countries where foreigners can travel to legally end their lives and has a number of organizations that are dedicated to helping people kill themselves.

Nitschke has repeatedly said Exit International’s Swiss lawyers had advised that use of the capsule would be legal in Switzerland.

FILE - Philip Nitschke enters a 'suicide pod' known as 'The Sarco' in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, July 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahmad Seir, File)

FILE - A 'suicide pod' known as 'The Sarco' is seen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, July 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahmad Seir, File)

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has retired, the struggling chipmaker said Monday in a surprise announcement.

Two company executives, David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, will act as interim co-CEOs while the company searches for a replacement for Gelsinger, who also stepped down from the company's board.

The apparent ousting of Gelsinger, whose career spanned more than 40 years, underscores the turmoil at Intel. The company was once a dominant force in the semiconductor industry but has been eclipsed by rival Nvidia, which has cornered the market for chips that run artificial intelligence systems.

Nvidia's ascendance was cemented earlier this month when it replaced Intel on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Gelsinger started at Intel in 1979 at Intel and was its first chief technology officer. He returned to Intel as chief executive in 2021.

Zinsner is executive vice president and chief financial officer at Intel. Holthaus was appointed to the newly created position of CEO of Intel Products, which includes the client computing group, data center and AI group and network and edge group.

Frank Yeary, independent chair of Intel's board, will become interim executive chair.

“Pat spent his formative years at Intel, then returned at a critical time for the company in 2021,” Yeary said in a statement. "As a leader, Pat helped launch and revitalize process manufacturing by investing in state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing, while working tirelessly to drive innovation throughout the company.”

Gelsinger's departure comes as Intel’s financial woes have been piling up. The company posted a $16.6 billion loss in the most recent quarter. Gelsinger announced plans in August to slash 15% of its huge workforce — or about 15,000 jobs — as part of cost-cutting efforts to to save $10 billion in 2025.

Unlike some of rivals such as Nvidia, Intel manufactures chips in addition to designing them.

Last week it was revealed that the Biden administration plans on reducing part of Intel’s $8.5 billion in federal funding for computer chip plants around the country, according to three people familiar with the grant who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

The reduction is largely a byproduct of the $3 billion that Intel is also receiving to provide computer chips to the military. President Joe Biden announced the agreement to provide Intel with up to $8.5 billion in direct funding and $11 billion in loans in March.

The changes to Intel’s funding are not related to the company’s financial record or milestones, the people familiar with the grant told The Associated Press.

Shares of the Santa Clara, California, company, rose 2.6% in morning trading. Its stock has shed 42% in the past year.

AP Business Writer Kelvin Chan contributed to this report from London.

FILE - Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger speaks while holding a new chip, called Gaudi 3, during an event called AI Everywhere in New York, on Dec. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)