Overview
- Alice and Ellen Kessler, 89, were found dead on November 17 in adjacent apartments in Grünwald near Munich, with police reporting no indication of third‑party involvement and opening a routine inquiry to confirm cause and compliance.
- The Deutsche Gesellschaft für humanes Sterben (Dghs) said the twins had applied years earlier and completed assessments verifying capacity, voluntariness and stability of their decision under Germany’s post‑2020 assisted‑dying framework.
- According to Dghs, a physician set up the infusion and a lawyer was present, a saline test verified the mechanism, and the sisters themselves activated the valve, with death described as due to cardiac arrest.
- Evidence of planning included a letter canceling a newspaper subscription with the date corrected by hand to 17.11.2025 and packages to friends labeled to be opened after their chosen day.
- The twins had long stated wishes for a single urn with their mother and dog, and media report their estate is designated for Médecins Sans Frontières.