A family was left grieving and heartbroken when they got an out-of-the-blue message on WhatsApp that wife, mom, and grandmother Maureen Slough, 58, traveled to Switzerland to end her life. According to People, Slough told her family she was going to Lithuainia with a friend but secretly made extensive plans to end her life via assisted suicide.
“A close friend of hers messaged me on the Wednesday night, possibly at like 10 p.m. I was in bed with the baby,” Royal, a mom of two, told the Irish Independent. “He just replied like, ‘Your mom’s in Switzerland.’ He’s like, ‘You have a right to know. I was sworn to secrecy. She’s there and she wants assisted suicide.’ I was so scared in that moment.”
Royal called her father, who attempted to contact Slough in Switzerland. At 1 p.m. the following day, Royal received a message on WhatsApp from the assisted suicide facility Pegasos that her mother’s ashes would be posted to her in six to eight weeks, confirming she had died.
“In that very moment, because I was alone, I just sat there with the baby and cried… I just felt like my world ended,” Royal said.
She began unraveling the dark truth that her mother, who she admits was mentally unwell and grieving the death of her two younger sisters, secretly filed the application with the nonprofit and paid the £15,000 fee (about $20,000) to have the “procedure” done.
People reported that Pegasos told Royal and the Irish Independent that Slough went through an “extensive assessment” prior to her death, verifying that she was of sound mind and claiming that she told them she suffered from “unbearable chronic pain.”
“No one’s saying she wasn’t feeling pain. Not pain good enough to go and end her life. She had a lot more life to live and give,” Royal told the Irish Independent, per People. “She was just in a dark time. She wasn’t terminally ill or, in my opinion, ill enough to go and do this and leave our family behind like that.”
In a comment on Slough’s Facebook page where she shared photos of her two grandchildren — Royal’s kids — a friend wrote eight weeks ago: “Your reason to keep going and never give up they adore [you] nanny.”
The organization also claimed it received a letter from Royal stating she was informed of her mother’s decision and despite not agreeing with it “accepted it.” It also shared that Royal was actually contacted directly via email to verify the authenticity of the letter and furthermore stated that she actually responded to confirm it and “apologized” for not accompanying her mother.
“This is all just a confusing story,” Royal told the Irish Independent. “It wasn’t even my email. With anything these days, 99% of things you settle you get a call to your phone. So why is it not like this when you’re about to lose your life? If I want to set up a Roblox account for my 8-year-old I have to verify it on my phone.”
Slough’s brother, a solicitor in the UK, wrote to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the UK asking it to investigate their case with Swiss authorities. According to NDTV World, he “claimed Pegasos ignored its own policy of informing the family.”
Her ashes arrived to the family in early August, and the family arranged a funeral. They planned to bury her with her sisters.
“People are saying to me, ‘At least you didn’t find her in a bad way over here.’ Well, it was just as bad to me,” Royal claimed. “She was in and out in two days and that was the end of their communication with me. Not even a condolence letter with her urn. Not even a fragile sticker on the box, just bounced around the back of a post van.”
Note: If you or any of your loved ones are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can always reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling 988. They are available 24/7 by phone or online chat.
