On October 2, 1973, four people were executed at the Tucapel Regiment in Temuco. Military authorities publicly explained these deaths by alleging an attempted escape by two of the prisoners and an assault on sentries by the other two.

In the case of the two deaths attributed to the alleged "escape law," a communiqué issued by the Command of the Temuco Military Garrison informed the public that: "two people who were detained inside the Tucapel Regiment of Temuco were put down by internal guards while attempting to escape the facility." The two executed on that occasion were:

José María ORTIGOSA ANSOLEAGA, 42 years old, merchant, farmer, and personal friend of President Salvador Allende. He had been summoned by the Military Prosecutor's Office, accused of the existence of a guerrilla school on his farm, for which he traveled from Santiago to Temuco in order to present himself to the authorities.

He was detained on the outskirts of that city by a military patrol, taken to the jail, and from there to the Tucapel Regiment. Numerous witnesses saw him in a precarious physical condition as a result of the duress to which he was subjected.

Daniel de los Angeles MATELUNA GOMEZ, 53 years old, advisor to the Central Unica de Trabajadores (CUT) of Temuco.

The two executions for alleged assault on military personnel were reported by the Temuco Garrison Command via Communiqué No. 9, which stated: "In accordance with the provisions of Communiqué No. 24 of the Military Junta of Government, the sentries of the No. 8 Tucapel Infantry Regiment proceeded to eliminate by fire Pedro Ríos Castillo and Guido Troncoso Pérez, who, instigated by the latter, a member of the GAP, tried to seize their weapons and physically assault them."

Pedro RIOS CASTILLO was 43 years old, Vice President of the Development Board of Bío Bío, Malleco, and Cautín, a professor at the Universidad de Concepción, and a militant of the Partido Socialista.

On September 11, he had presented himself voluntarily to the military authorities of Temuco after being summoned through official announcements, and was initially released. Later, on September 13, he was detained in Los Angeles by military personnel along with his minor son and transferred to the Regiment of that city, from there to the Temuco Jail, and then to the Tucapel Regiment the day before his death.

It is documented that he was in poor physical condition as a result of the torture to which he was subjected.

Guido TRONCOSO PEREZ, 21 years old, was a mechanic and a militant of the Partido Socialista. He had been detained days earlier at his home by Investigaciones personnel in Temuco, who tortured him, released him, and detained him again on October 2. His captors took him to the Tucapel Regiment.

The official versions provided to the public to explain these four deaths are not considered acceptable by this Commission, based on the following considerations:

The four executed individuals were deprived of their liberty in a heavily guarded military facility, which makes an irrational attempt to seize weapons from sentries or to escape from the facility highly unlikely;

Testimonies presented to this Commission account for the deteriorated physical state of several of the detainees, a result of the torture applied, which makes an attack on an armed guard even more improbable;

Had an attack or escape actually been attempted by the prisoners, in all probability they could have been subdued without causing their deaths, considering they were unarmed civilians facing a military contingent.

For the reasons stated, this Commission is convinced that José María Ortigosa, Daniel Mateluna, Pedro Ríos, and Guido Troncoso were executed by State agents, who deprived them of their right to life outside of all legality.