Autopsy and its role in Franco's dictatorship: a case of the last Republican mayor of the town Calera y Chozas (Toledo, Spain)

Abstract

In the town of Calera y Chozas (Spain), five mass graves containing the remains of 28 individuals were discovered during a 2012 excavation. The witnesses and historical evidence indicated that the body of the last Republican mayor of the town, Felipe Fernández Varela, who had died in September 1939, was located in the mass grave designated as no. 1. Within this particular grave, only two bodies were found. Anthropological analysis showed that the first individual was significantly younger than 50 years, being the mayor's age at the time of death, while the age of the second individual was closer to 50. This second individual had a fractured skull, with a depression on the left parietal bone, and there were unmistakable signs of autopsy, which consisted of cut marks on the frontal bone and the sternal extremity of the right clavicle. Further historical research revealed documents concerning the autopsy performed on this individual. Although, according to the report, the cause of death was a stroke - the consequence of atherosclerosis and alcoholism - no reference was made to the forceful impact to the skull or intracranial bleeding. Considering the size of the fracture on the skull and the fact that there were no signs of bone healing, we believe that this impact, and not the stroke, was the direct cause of the death of the last Republican mayor. The mayor's case is a clear example of the role forensic medicine performed at the beginning of Franco's dictatorship. The task was not only to conceal the crime but also to tarnish the victim's name.

Keywords: Autopsy; Exhumation; Head injuries; Identification; Mass grave; Physical anthropology; Spanish Civil War.

Fig. 1

Map of Spain with the location of the village Calera y Chozas

Fig. 2

A transverse fracture perimortem on the fifth metatarsal of the left foot

Fig. 3

a, b A strong impact observed on the left parietal lobe, possibly the consequence of a hit with a blunt object or a fall on the floor

Fig. 4

a, b A straight, parallel cut marks, very like those made with medical instruments in autopsies, starting from the frontal lobe and ending on the right parietal bone

Fig. 5

A straight, precise, vertical cut, very like those made with medical instruments in autopsies, noted on the right clavicle

Fig. 6

Felipe Fernández Varela, mayor of Calera y Chozas

Fig. 7

Linear cuts, made by a saw, were found on the frontal bone, proving that a brain autopsy was performed (red arrows)