Three Doctors Certified A Man Dead, But He Awoke Just Before His Autopsy

A few years ago, Spanish prison officials were puzzled when a prisoner who had been ruled dead by three different doctors awoke in the mortuary only hours beforehis own autopsy. Gonzalo Montoya Jimenez, then 29 years old, was found lifeless in his cell throughout a morning headcount on 7 January 2018 and was being transported to a hospital mortuary in a body bag while pathologists detected something unusual. While after some time they notice the sound of snoring that was coming from insidethe bag.

Jimenez, who was spending terms for robbery in the high-security section of the Asturias Central Penitentiary in northwest Spain, was discovered asleep in a chair in his cell with no evidence of violence.The doctors deemed him dead since he had no critical signs, and an hour later, a forensic doctor examined the body, approved with the previous evaluations, and gave a third death report. Physicians didn't recognize itearlier but later realized that something was seriously wrong until they arrived at the mortuary.

Jimenez had already experienced time in a cold storage areatopreserve his body, and his skin had been inscribed with scalpel instructions in preparations for his upcoming autopsywhen the misplaced corpse suddenly awoke. Noises from inside the bag began to be heard by forensic doctors. Montoya was still alive. Quite the reverse, in fact. When the forensic [pathologist] opened the sack, he discovered that the convict was still alive.

Jimenez was afterward transported in an ambulance under guard to another hospital to recover from his mysterious and terribleexperience and was later declared to be in stable healthbut jail authorities appear to possess no idea how the mix-up occurred in the first place. Jimenez had reported feeling poorly the day before he was discovered 'dead,' and while it was unclear what caused his condition, his corpse showed evidence of cyanosis, a purplish coloring of the skin due to poor circulation or lack of oxygen, as well as rigor mortis, according to officials.

The fake death, as per hospital officials, could have been a case of catalepsy, a condition in which the body undergoes a trance or seizure-like state, resulting in a loss of consciousness and sensation, as well as physical rigidity. Although Jimenez has epilepsy and requires medication for it, it's unknown how he became cataleptic. His family stated it wasn't always possible for him to stick to his medication regimen in prison, so that could have played a role.It lasted for24 hours in intensive care before he regained consciousness and proceeded to speak, which doctors felt was a promising omen.