September 19, 2018
Founder of euthanasia organisation Sean Davison arrested for murder
The founder of right-to-die organisation, DignitySA, Sean Davison*, has been arrested on a murder charge in Cape Town, a colleague and co-founder confirmed on Wednesday.
Davison was arrested on Tuesday, apparently over the death of his friend Anrich Burger in 2013. Burger became a quadriplegic after a car crash.
Davison, the professor who helped his mother commit suicide in New Zealand, revealed to News24 in 2014 that he helped Burger end his life.
DignitySA co-founder Willem Landman said police executed a search warrant and confiscated Davison’s cellphone and laptop.
He was kept in Sea Point police station overnight and was due to appear in Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
Landman understood that the State wanted R100 000 bail but an amount of R20 000 bail was settled on, which still had to be accepted by a magistrate.
Western Cape police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Andre Traut confirmed to News24 that an arrest was made relating to the 2013 death.
“This office can confirm that a 57-year-old man was arrested on a charge of murder yesterday relating to an incident in Sea Point on November 2‚ 2013‚ which led to the death of a 43-year-old man.
“The suspect is due to make a court appearance in Cape Town today [Wednesday] to face the charge against him.”
This is a developing story.
* Sean Davison was a keynote speaker at Exit’s 2016 conference ‘From Voluntary Euthanasia to Rational Suicide’ at the State Library of Victoria.
Sean Davison & Philip Nitschke