In 2018 something strange happened in the Asturian prison of Villabona . On January 7, like every day in the morning, the prisoners were counted, but one was missing, Gonzalo Montoya Jiménez .
They found him unconscious in his cell and two doctors from the penitentiary center left him for dead . The forensic surgeon of the Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) of Oviedo who appeared at the scene also thought the same. The judge, therefore, authorized the removal of the body and proceeded to transfer it to the IML for an autopsy . It is not clear if it was during the transfer to the morgue or as soon as they entered it, the people responsible for the body realized that the man was breathing . Montoya was immediately taken to the Central University Hospital of Asturias, where he remained in the ICU until the 24th due to suffering from pneumonia and kidney problems.
What happened to the prisoner? Why was he left for dead if he wasn’t? The most repeated argument those days was that Montoya suffered an episode of catalepsy . Catalepsy is a nervous disorder that causes the person not to respond to physical stimuli, present muscular rigidity and their bodily functions slow down . That does not mean that he does not have vital signs, he has them and he breathes, but they are very weak.
The catalepsy can last from a few minutes to hours (the latter is what is believed to have happened to Montoya). To confirm that the person has catalepsy and has not died, an electrocardiogram must be performed . In this way, it is checked whether the heart continues to beat and consequently the person is alive or has stopped and has died. Montoya did not have an EKG.
Other signs that indicate that the person has died are: cadaveric stiffness (the limbs do not have flexibility), dark spots on the back (indicate that the blood is descending), pale mucous membranes and skin, dehydration of the cornea and cooling of the body. Experts point out that these cadaverous phenomena do not occur in catalepsy. Yes, lividity can occur since the circulatory system works under minimums.
Catalepsy is a rare disorder and if it occurs it usually affects people with psychogenital diseases, severe epilepsies or patients with very advanced Parkinson’s. They can also be caused by intoxication of certain drugs such as anxiolytics and antidepressants.
Not all catalepsies are the same. There are times when the affected person can hear, but does not react and in more serious cases, no matter how much he is stimulated, he does not respond, even if he is alive.
Something similar to catalepsy is catatonic schizophrenia , a neurological disorder that causes stiffness in the body or forced posture and that makes the person unable to respond to the stimulus. It is detected by doing an EEG.
Therefore, these types of authentic horror movie phenomena can happen in real life, but today there are means to avoid being left for dead without being dead.
