Family horrified as Swiss suicide clinic sends WhatsApp confirming mother’s death

A family has said they were devastated to learn of their mother’s assisted suicide via a WhatsApp message from a Swiss clinic, which also informed them that her ashes would arrive by post.

Maureen Slough, 58, from Cavan, Ireland, travelled to Pegasos clinic in Basel on 8 July, reportedly telling relatives she was going on holiday to Lithuania.

Two days later, her daughter Megan Royal received a message stating her mother had died while “listening to gospel music sung by Elvis Presley”. The family says handwritten goodbye letters from Maureen arrived only weeks later, and Pegasos returned the ashes by post.

The family claims they had no knowledge of her intentions, despite her naming Megan as next of kin.

Ms Slough had long struggled with mental illness, having attempted suicide a year earlier following the deaths of her two sisters.

Her brother Philip, a UK solicitor, said Maureen had provided the clinic with “letters of complaint to medical authorities in Éire in respect of bogus medical conditions”, which Pegasos allegedly used to support her application. She reportedly paid £13,000 for the procedure.

Pegasos claims it received a letter from Megan acknowledging her mother’s plans and later confirmed its authenticity via email.

Megan denies writing the letter or verifying it, alleging her mother may have forged both the letter and email address.

She told the Irish Independent: “They should not have allowed her to make that decision on her own. This group did not contact me.”

Pegasos said it conducted an extensive assessment, including an independent psychiatric evaluation, concluding Ms Slough was of sound mind.

They reported she repeatedly stated she suffered from unbearable, unrelievable chronic pain and provided documentation from a pain-management consultant.

The family has called on the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to investigate, accusing Pegasos of failing to properly verify family notification.

Philip said: “I am working on the assumption that my sister created this email and the clinic’s procedures were woefully inadequate.”

This is the third case since 2023 in which families allege they were not informed about a loved one’s assisted death at Pegasos, despite previous promises by the clinic to improve its procedures.

The organisation maintains it operates fully within Swiss law.