'Dead' Man Found Alive In Mortuary Hours Before His Autopsy

A prisoner in Spain was found alive in a hospital mortuary Sunday, that too inside a body bag, after being declared dead by three doctors.

Gonzalo Montoya Jimenez, 29, was found snoring by a medical examiner in the mortuary with marks all over his body, which were made by the doctors in preparation for autopsy on the supposed corpse, according to a report by News.com.au.

Sources who were close to the case said Jimenez, a prisoner at Villabona Jail, was feeling ill Saturday, the night before he was pronounced dead, Diari de Girona, a Catalan based news agency, reported. The sources also stated when the jail officials commenced their morning rounds, they found Jimenez without any signs of life in his cell.

The jail officials found him sitting on a chair, unconscious, reported Il Mattino, an Italian daily. Jimenez was kept in cell number 8, which was in one of the most menacing sections of the jail, the Diari de Girona reported.

The doctor on duty Saturday night and the one next morning checked Jimenez’s body, without trying to detect a pulse, and concluded the inmate died. The judicial commission then took the opinion of a third doctor, who also confirmed the death.

Jimenez’s supposed corpse was transferred in a body bag to the Institute of Forensic Anatomical Institute of Oviedo, for an autopsy to be conducted.

According to the report by Il Mattino, the body was kept in the mortuary for a short time after which it was moved to a table for autopsy. However, the medical examiner was shocked to hear Jimenez snoring while on the table.

Relatives of Jimenez reportedly said, "They had already marked the body to open it with the scalpel.”

After being found alive, Jiminez was transferred to Central University Hospital of Asturias. He gained consciousness Monday morning and on waking up asked about his wife, reported La Voz De Asturias.

The Villabona prison started an investigation into the incident, reported Il Mattino.

According to the doctors, Jimenez’s brain might have suffered from a lack of oxygen, but the fact that he was awake and was able to talk and remember things were positive signs.

Jimenez, who used to take medicines for epilepsy, was serving a sentence for theft. Relatives of the prisoner claimed Jimenez might not have taken the medicines at the right time as it would be difficult to maintain a proper schedule in jail, stated the report.

According to the report by News.com.au, Jimenez’s family was not happy with the way the prison officials dealt with the matter. The family was also “convinced” only one out of the three doctors had checked the body, while the other two merely signed the death certificate.

News.com.au reported catalepsy might be the reason for Jimenez’s condition. Catalepsy, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, is a condition where the body goes into a state of inactivity and has decreased responsiveness to any sort of stimuli. In this condition, the body also has a tendency to keep itself in an immobile posture. At times, the condition might be associated with schizophrenia and catatonia, which are psychotic disorders.