Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

A Man Declared Dead by Three Doctors Woke Up Shortly Before His Autopsy
https://www.sciencealert.com ^ | February 04, 2022 | PETER DOCKRILL

Posted on 02/04/2022 11:10:12 AM PST by Red Badger

A few years ago, Spanish prison authorities were rather baffled after a prisoner who had been declared dead by three separate doctors woke up in the morgue – just hours before his own autopsy was set to commence.

The prisoner, then-29-year-old Gonzalo Montoya Jiménez, was found unresponsive in his cell during a morning roll call on 7 January 2018 and had been transferred to a hospital mortuary in a body bag when pathologists heard something strange.

Snoring. Coming from inside the bag.

Jiménez, who was serving time for robbery in the maximum security wing of Asturias Central Penitentiary in northwest Spain, was first attended by two doctors on duty in the prison, after he was found sitting unconscious in a chair in his cell, with no signs of violence being evident.

Sensing no vital signs, the doctors declared him dead, and an hour later a forensic doctor inspected the body, concurred with the first evaluations, and issued a third death report.

Only later in the morgue did physicians realize something was terribly wrong.

By this point, Jiménez had already spent time in a cold storage room to help preserve his body, and his skin had been marked with scalpel guidelines in preparation for his imminent autopsy – at which point the mistaken corpse suddenly stirred.

"Forensic doctors began to hear noises coming from inside the bag. Montoya was not dead. Quite the opposite," reported El Español at the time.

"The forensic [pathologist] proceeded to open the bag and found the inmate still alive."

Jiménez was subsequently transferred under guard in an ambulance to another hospital to recover from his mystery episode, and was eventually reported to be in a stable condition – but as for how the mix-up could have occurred in the first place, prison authorities seemingly had no idea.

"I can't comment on what happened at the Institute of Legal Medicine," a spokesperson for the Spanish Prison Service told the media, "but three doctors have seen clinical signs of death so it's still not clear at the moment exactly why this occurred."

The day before Jiménez was found 'dead', he complained of feeling ill, and while it was unknown exactly what caused his condition, officials described his body as showing signs of cyanosis – a purplish discoloration of the skin caused by poor circulation or lack of oxygen – in addition to rigor mortis.

Hospital officials told Spanish media the faux fatality could be a case of catalepsy, in which the body enters a trance or seizure-like state, exhibiting a loss of consciousness and sensation, together with physical rigidity.

Just how Jiménez became cataleptic is unclear, although the prisoner experienced epilepsy, and takes medication for the condition – but his family said it wasn't always easy for Jiménez to adhere to his medication schedule in lock-up, so that might have had something to do with it.

In the hospital, it took 24 hours before Jiménez recovered consciousness in intensive care, and began to speak, which doctors said was a good sign.

When the 'dead man' woke up, he asked if he could see his wife.

A version of this article was first published in January 2018.


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Religion; Society; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-26 next last

1 posted on 02/04/2022 11:10:12 AM PST by Red Badger
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Better than waking up after.


2 posted on 02/04/2022 11:12:00 AM PST by Col Frank Slade
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Bring out your dead.

“I’m not dead!”


3 posted on 02/04/2022 11:13:59 AM PST by Responsibility2nd (I love my country. It's my government that I hate.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Col Frank Slade

That’s why they used to put bells on caskets.


4 posted on 02/04/2022 11:16:52 AM PST by monkeyshine (live and let live is dead)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Col Frank Slade

Yep!...................


5 posted on 02/04/2022 11:16:58 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

If he was serving a life sentence, and died, the revived, had he completed his incarceration?


6 posted on 02/04/2022 11:17:07 AM PST by Fai Mao (I don't think we have enough telephone poles.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Fai Mao

Nah, he was just a plain robber.................


7 posted on 02/04/2022 11:19:37 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

8 posted on 02/04/2022 11:21:30 AM PST by ClearCase_guy ("If you see something, say something"? I see people dying from vaccines.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Fornesic doctors, what don’t they know.


9 posted on 02/04/2022 11:21:37 AM PST by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Was he one of can McCloud?


10 posted on 02/04/2022 11:23:33 AM PST by AndyTheBear
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

He should be released as soon as he signs an against medical advice waiver

God obviously forgave his crime, and revived him for a reason we can not understand.


11 posted on 02/04/2022 11:25:28 AM PST by algore
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

12 posted on 02/04/2022 11:32:13 AM PST by PGR88
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

If you don’t believe it was God, only one other choice

Voodoo https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9SSUQxGjZZ4


13 posted on 02/04/2022 11:32:15 AM PST by algore
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

"Well Excuuuuse Me!"

14 posted on 02/04/2022 11:33:31 AM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

“Look, I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to go through with the autopsy. The forms have already been signed. Now lie back down, please. This could sting a little.”


15 posted on 02/04/2022 11:36:45 AM PST by Billthedrill
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

“It says here you’re a liver donor.”


16 posted on 02/04/2022 11:46:54 AM PST by HartleyMBaldwin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: AndyTheBear

Connor MacLeod was unavailable for comment.


17 posted on 02/04/2022 11:47:33 AM PST by BipolarBob (The roar of the masses could be "Let's Go Brandon".)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

They were about to “Science him harder”.


18 posted on 02/04/2022 11:55:14 AM PST by Caipirabob (Communists...Socialists...Fascists & AntiFa...Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Caipirabob

They already listed him as a CoVID death.............


19 posted on 02/04/2022 11:59:05 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

20 posted on 02/04/2022 11:59:58 AM PST by Seruzawa ("The Political left is the Garden of Eden of incompetence" - Marx the Smarter (Groucho))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-26 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson