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A French family committed suicide in Switzerland, driven by conspiracy theories, the BBC reported.

The case has shocked Switzerland and is about to be closed.

Police ruled out any outside involvement and said the adults, who moved to Switzerland from France two years ago, had given no signs of suicidal thoughts.

Four of the family died on March 24 last year in Montreux.

An eight-year-old girl, a 15-year-old boy, their father and mother, and the mother's twin sister fell from the balcony of their seventh-floor apartment.

The boy was in a coma, but has since recovered from his severe injuries.

According to investigators, he has no memory of that day.

A post-mortem examination found no signs of a struggle before death, and an autopsy showed no evidence of drugs.

After a year-long investigation, Swiss authorities say the family's mother and her sister were deeply involved in survivalist and conspiracy theories.

After the death, the police found their apartment full of food, medicine and hygiene materials, carefully stored and organized.

The family rarely went out, and the children were educated at home, writes "Darik".

According to investigators, the two women had a deep-seated suspicion of state and local authorities and raised their children to believe the world was a hostile place.

Why do so many children commit suicide in Poland?

The Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine have only strengthened their conviction.

A search of the apartment and electronic devices revealed that the collective suicide was carefully planned and even rehearsed.

The police report said the adults were apparently waiting for the right moment to head for a better world away from the one they feared.

Tragically, what seems to have prompted their decision was a visit from the police in Montreux.

They stop by that morning to remind the father to go to a meeting with the local education authority to discuss homeschooling his son after he doesn't respond to several letters.

They wouldn't let the police in and minutes later they were dead.

On Tuesday, Swiss authorities appealed for the surviving son's privacy.

Switzerland

suicide

conspiracies