José Canio Contreras died that day at 4:40 hours, at the Temuco Hospital, due to septic shock, pancreatic abscess, and acute pancreatitis, as certified by his Death Certificate.

According to witness statements, José Canio, a supporter of the Unidad Popular government and a leader of the "El Copihue" peasant settlement in Temuco, was detained in early November 1973 by Carabineros officers from the Coilaco Station, who beat him and interrogated him under torture.

Several days later, he was transferred to the Second Carabineros Precinct of Temuco, where he remained for nearly a week. People detained in the same facility later informed his family that José Canio had been interrogated under torture again, receiving repeated and sustained beatings and the application of electric shocks.

A week later, he was released and returned to his home in a precarious state of health, which progressively worsened. On November 20, 1973, he had to be admitted for emergency care at the Temuco Regional Hospital, where he passed away 55 days later.

By virtue of the evidence gathered and the investigations conducted by this Corporation, the Superior Council reached the conviction that the illness that caused the death of José Canio Contreras was decisively influenced by the torture, mistreatment, and beatings to which he was subjected by State agents while he remained in detention.

Consequently, he was declared a victim of human rights violations.