A family in Ireland was deeply shocked when they reportedly received a message from a Swiss assisted dying clinic informing them that their mother had passed away and that her ashes would be sent by mail.
Maureen Slough, a 58-year-old resident of Cavan, traveled to the Pegasos clinic on July 8 seeking an assisted death, unbeknownst to her family, according to the Irish Independent.
Maureen reportedly told her family that she and a friend were going to Lithuania.
“I was actually speaking with her that morning, and she seemed vibrant and full of life,” her partner Mick Lynch recounted, referring to the day she died.
“She mentioned she was going out to enjoy the sunshine after breakfast. Perhaps that was when she was heading to the clinic. I assumed she would return home.”
Later, her daughter Megan Royal received a distressing WhatsApp message, which allegedly stated that her mother had passed away while listening to gospel songs by Elvis Presley.
The family is in disbelief that the clinic would approve Maureen’s application for assisted dying, considering her long history of mental health struggles.
She had also attempted suicide a year prior, after the deaths of her two sisters, according to the family.
Adding to their dismay, the family claims the clinic never informed them of her plans.
Friends are reportedly horrified by the clinic’s method of returning the ashes via parcel post.
Her friend, Stephanie Daly, told the newspaper: “You get letters in the post, not people.”
Desperate for answers, the family found out Maureen had paid a reported £13,000 to the Pegasos Swiss Association to assist her death.
The Pegasos group is a non-profit voluntary assisted dying organisation.
According to its website, the clinic believes it’s “the human right of every rational adult of sound mind, regardless of state of health, to choose the manner and timing of their death”.
The organisation allegedly said it received a letter from Megan, stating she was aware of and accepted her mum’s decision to die.
The clinic also claims it verified the letter’s authenticity through an email response from Megan, using an email address her mum provided.
But Megan insists she never wrote the letter or verified any contact from the clinic, the report said.
The family claims Maureen may have forged the letter and created a fake email address to verify it.
Her brother Philip, a UK solicitor, claimed Maureen provided the clinic with “letters of complaint to medical authorities in Éire in respect of bogus medical conditions” – which Pegasos then used as supporting documents for her application.
Megan reportedly argued her mum’s decision to go to the clinic was made in a state of grief resulting from her sisters’ deaths.
She also cited her mum’s difficult upbringing as a child.
It is understood that in the past few weeks, the family has received handwritten goodbye letters from Maureen.
The Pegasos group maintains that it carried out an extensive assessment of Maureen’s mental health – including an independent psychiatric evaluation.
The clinic added that Maureen told the clinic she was in unbearable and unrelievable chronic pain and that they received supporting medical documentation from her pain-management consultant.
Regarding the letter, Pegasos claimed Megan had confirmed its authenticity via email and had apologised for not being able to accompany her mum to Switzerland.
The clinic said the letter expressed that while Megan was unhappy with her mum’s decision, she accepted it.
Maureen’s brother wants the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, along with Swiss authorities, to conduct an investigation.
“I am working on the assumption that my sister created this email and the clinic’s procedures were woefully inadequate in verification,” he wrote.
“The Pegasos clinic has faced numerous criticisms in the UK for their practices with British nationals, and the circumstances in which my sister took her life are highly questionable.”
When approached for comment by the Daily Mail, the Pegasos Swiss Association said it could not “share, confirm, nor deny the identities of our patients in public”.
It added: “When talking about voluntary assisted death in Switzerland, it is important to understand that all organisations are legally bound to do careful prior assessment.
“Pegasos has always respected the applicable Swiss law without exception and continues to do so.”
Maureen’s family’s story is not unique.
Other families have also hit out at Pegasos, claiming they were left in the dark about their loved ones’ plans to go through with assisted deaths.
In 2023, Pegasos reportedly vowed to contact a person’s relatives beforehand after 47-year-old teacher Alistair Hamilton – who had no diagnosed illness – died, leaving his family shocked.
However, in 2025, the organisation appeared to break this promise.
Anne Canning, a 51-year-old British mum, who was battling depression after the sudden death of her son 19 months prior, ended her life at the clinic, ITV reported.
Her family were allegedly not informed of her decision – only finding out after they received goodbye letters she had written shortly before her death.
The Sun has contacted the Pegasos Swiss Association for comment.
