Luis Fernández Casanova died that day at 17:00 hours, at Victoria Nº 385, due to hanging by rope, as stated in the respective Death Certificate.

According to witness statements, on September 16, 1973, Luis Fernández, a militant of the Partido Socialista, was arrested for having flown the national flag at half-mast with a black ribbon at the school where he worked as a teacher and principal in the city of La Unión, on September 11 of that year.

He was charged with the crime of desecration of the flag and sentenced to 360 days in prison, as recorded in his criminal record and background check. Witnesses stated that during his period of detention and subsequently at the Isla Teja Prison and the La Unión Prison, he was subjected to permanent mistreatment and humiliation.

At the end of 1974, when he regained his freedom, he was in poor physical and mental condition; furthermore, he had been dismissed from his duties as a teacher, which caused him to suffer from frequent mood swings, melancholy, and he barely spoke.

He committed suicide three months later, before the birth of his only child. Days earlier, he had been fired from a new job after a third party denounced him to his employer for his status as a former political prisoner.

Considering the evidence gathered and the investigation carried out by this Corporation, the Superior Council reached the conviction that the deterioration of his physical and mental health, caused by the period of deprivation of liberty he suffered and his situation of job instability derived from his status as a former political prisoner, had a decisive influence on Luis Fernández Casanova's decision.

For this reason, it declared him a victim of the political violence prevailing at the time of his death.