Maureen Slough, 58, told her family she was going on vacation with a friend. However, she actually traveled alone to Switzerland to end her life with assisted suicide<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Her daughter, Megan Royal, opened up about the devastating moment she learned of her mother\u2019s death via text message<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Royal and her family are now looking for answers as to how Slough was able to move forward with assisted suicide without their knowledge<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
A daughter is opening up about the chilling way she learned that her mother traveled to Switzerland to end her life without their family\u2019s knowledge.<\/p>\n
On July 8, Maureen Slough \u2014 a 58-year-old from Cavan, Ireland \u2014 told her family she was going on vacation to Lithuania with a friend. However, she confided in two friends that she was actually traveling alone to Switzerland.<\/p>\n
The following day, her daughter Megan Royal was contacted by one of her mother\u2019s friends with concerns about her real plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cA close friend of hers messaged me on the Wednesday night, possibly at like 10 p.m. I was in bed with the baby,\u201d Royal, a mom of two, recalled to the Irish Independent<\/a>. \u201cHe just replied like, \u2018Your mom\u2019s in Switzerland.\u2019 He\u2019s like, \u2018You have a right to know. I was sworn to secrecy. She\u2019s there and she wants assisted suicide.\u2019 I was so scared in that moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Royal said she immediately called her dad, who tried to contact her mother in Switzerland. She said Slough ultimately promised that she would return home. However, the following day around 1 p.m. she received a text message on WhatsApp informing her that her mother had died.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat was worse was not only did I get the text on WhatsApp, they had advised me that her ashes would be posted to me in 6-8 weeks,\u201d she said. \u201cIn that very moment, because I was alone, I just sat there with the baby and cried\u2026 I just felt like my world ended.\u201d<\/p>\n Royal explained that the text message came from Pegasos, an assisted dying nonprofit organization in Liestal, Switzerland. She learned that Slough had quietly filed an application and paid \u00a315,000 to end her life.<\/p>\n Assisted suicide has been legal in Switzerland since 1942, according to Dignity in Dying<\/a>, a British organization. \u200b\u200bIt’s different from euthanasia \u2014 which is illegal \u2014 because the patients themselves administer prescribed drugs to end their lives, rather than a doctor.<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. <\/strong><\/p>\n Following Slough\u2019s death, her family is now looking for answers as to how the assisted suicide happened without their knowledge.<\/p>\n Royal described her mother as a \u201cfiery, smart and dedicated woman.\u201d However, she told the outlet that Slough had a long history of mental illness and even had a past suicide attempt while struggling to cope with the deaths of her two younger sisters.<\/p>\n Maureen Slough\/Facebook<\/p>\n Maureen Slough<\/p>\n The family had tried to get her help through the difficult time.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one\u2019s saying she wasn\u2019t feeling pain. Not pain good enough to go and end her life. She had a lot more life to live and give,\u201d Royal told the outlet. \u201cShe was just in a dark time. She wasn\u2019t terminally ill or, in my opinion, ill enough to go and do this and leave our family behind like that.\u201d<\/p>\n In the weeks following her mother\u2019s assisted suicide, Royal said she learned more details about the moments leading up to her decision to end her life with Pegasos.<\/p>\n Pegasos did not respond to PEOPLE\u2019s request for comment. The nonprofit told both Royal and the Irish Independent<\/a> that Slough went through an extensive assessment prior to her death, including an independent psychiatric evaluation confirming that she was of sound mind.<\/p>\n Pegasos said Slough informed them of her history and stated repeatedly that she was suffering with \u201cunbearable chronic pain.\u201d According to the outlet, they received a letter from Royal stating that she was informed of her mother\u2019s decision and although she didn\u2019t agree, she accepted it.\u00a0 The organization said the daughter was contacted directly via email to confirm the authenticity of the letter and Royal ultimately responded to confirm as well as apologize that she could not accompany her mother to Switzerland.<\/p>\n The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n However, Royal and her family believe Slough created the email herself and responded on behalf of her daughter. She\u2019s now questioning Pegasos\u2019 verification process, wondering why they didn\u2019t use the provided WhatsApp number to call her rather than confirm authenticity via email.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is all just a confusing story,\u201d Royal told the outlet. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t 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\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are saying to me, \u2018At least you didn\u2019t find her in a bad way over here.\u2019 Well, it was just as bad to me,\u201d she continued. Royal claims, \u201cShe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Royal says that her uncle, Philip, Slough\u2019s brother, is a solicitor in the UK and he\u2019s written to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the UK, asking it to investigate their family’s case with Swiss authorities.<\/p>\n In the letter, he claimed the Pegasos failed to follow its own policy of informing family. \u201cWhile I understand that Swiss law permits assisted dying, 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,\u201d he wrote, Right to Life UK<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n Royal said in early August that Slough\u2019s ashes arrived with her family and by the end of the month, they arranged a funeral.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to bury her with her two sisters,\u201d she said, noting that she\u2019s still struggling with grief.<\/p>\n If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org<\/a> 24\/7.<\/p>\n![\"Maureen](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/419aa970ed428f286eeafb8c6b4ab469.jpeg\"\/)
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