Within the framework of the investigation known as the Torres San Borja Case, in which 6 people were detained on October 17, 1973, and later executed near the Lo Prado tunnel, visiting judge Jorge Zepeda handed down 10-year sentences to three former military personnel.

The convicted individuals were identified as former members of the Army Non-Commissioned Officers School: Gerardo Urrich, Juan Ramón Fernández, and René Cardemil, who, once the ruling becomes final, must serve the sentence with effective imprisonment.

The former agents are responsible for the aggravated homicides of Ricardo Montecinos Slaughter, an official of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); the Argentine tourist couple Carlos Adler Zulueta and Beatriz Elena Díaz Agüero; Víctor Garretón Romero, an importer and militant of the Partido Nacional; Jorge Salas Pararadisi, a university student; and Julio Saa Pizaro, a dental surgeon.

This case caused a major stir in 1976, as the IMF considered the event a violation of human rights and requested that the UN investigate the facts. The international body recommended that Chile initiate an investigation and find those responsible; however, at the time, the proceedings were closed without finding any culprits.

According to the ruling, the victims were detained while sleeping in their apartments in Tower 12 of the San Borja complex on October 16, 1973, by members of the Army Non-Commissioned Officers School and taken to the detention facility set up at the Casa de la Cultura de Barrancas in Pudahuel.

On October 17, 1973, they were taken from that location to the vicinity of the Lo Prado tunnel, where each was ordered to run to simulate an escape, and despite pleas for mercy, they were murdered by machine-gun fire.

Source: La Nación, April 6, 2011