The highest court considered that there is no precedent that make it possible to prove the murder of the former head of state and possible maneuvers to hide his poisoning.
The Supreme Court handed down a final ruling on the investigation into the death of the former President of the Republic, Eduardo Frei Montalval, which occurred on January 25, 1982 at the Santa María de Santiago clinic.
Specifically, the second chamber of the highest court acquitted all the defendants, only partially accepting the appeals in that part where it ruled on the acquittals of Patricio Silva Garín, Helmar Rosenberg, and Sergio González, who died during the processing of this process, according to radio ADN.
In addition, the ruling acquitted Raúl Lillo Gutiérrez and Luis Becerra, convicted at first instance as perpetrators, and Pedro Valdíga Soto, convicted at first instance as an accomplice.
In the rest, the Supreme Court rejected the appeals against the sentence that acquitted the first instance convicts, considering that there is no record to prove the murder of the former head of state and possible maneuvers to hide his poisoning.
In 2019, Judge Alejandro Madrid sentenced Dr. Patricio Silva Garín as the author of the murder of the Christian Democrat.
Likewise, five other people were found guilty as co-authors, accomplices and accessories after the fact that occurred in 1982.
However, the Santiago Appeals Court acquitted all those involved in 2021.
In this sense, the family of Frei Montalva intended to challenge this last sentence.
At the end of 1981, the former president was admitted to a clinic to undergo surgery, but after a series of unexpected complications, he died on January 22, 1982 at the Santa María Clinic in Santiago.
“Error that was operated in Chile”
Last Thursday, on the Mega channel, Frei Montalva’s son, also former president Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, recalled his father’s death.
“With great emotion, I remember that before he went to the clinic, I was with him at his desk. He insisted on everything that was happening and questioned his decision to have surgery in that place, ”said the former head of state.
Thus, he also stated that “I regret not having had the strength and conviction to convince my father to have an operation outside of Chile. It was a mistake”.
