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Mar 21, 2008 at 3:36 PM
Source
19 Mar 08
AN 81-year-old Gold Coast man built, and yesterday used, an intricate suicide machine to remotely shoot himself, after downloading the plans from the internet.
The Burleigh Heads man, who lived alone, left notes of his plans and thoughts as he struggled to come to terms with demands by interstate relatives that he move out his home and into care.
He spent hours searching the internet for a way to kill himself, downloaded what he needed and then built a complex machine that would remotely fire a gun.
He set the device up in his driveway about 7am yesterday, placed himself in front of it and set it in motion.
His notes explained that he chose the driveway as he knew there were tradesmen working next door who would find his body. The plan worked as the workmen heard the gunshots and ran to investigate.
The Gold Coast Bulletin will not reveal how the machine worked, but it was attached to a .22 semi-automatic pistol loaded with four bullets.
It was able to fire multiple shots into the man's head after he activated it.
Suicide experts told The Gold Coast Bulletin that such machines were not unheard of, but were very rare.
In November last year, a euthanasia campaigner who once compared her plight to that of a sick dog, took her own life, ending her battle with bladder cancer and multiple sclerosis.
Warwick mother-of-four June Burns, 67, was finally at peace after taking her life, said her husband Bob.
Euthanasia campaigner Philip Nitschke said she died after using a drug she had kept since the late 1990s.
Mr Burns said his wife had been comforted during her illness by the fact she had a way to end her life.
