Ecuadoran Woman Who Rapped on Coffin During Her Own Wake Passes Away

A 76-year-old woman, who had previously been declared dead, surprised her relatives by knocking on her coffin during her wake earlier this month. Unfortunately, she has now passed away after spending seven days in intensive care, according to her family.

Gilberto Barbera Montoya, the woman’s son, informed The Associated Press that doctors at the state hospital declared her dead on Friday evening. Bella Montoya had initially been admitted with a possible stroke and cardiopulmonary arrest. When she did not respond to resuscitation efforts, a doctor on duty pronounced her dead, as per the ministry.

On June 9, Montoya woke up and started knocking after spending five hours inside her coffin at a funeral home in Babahoyo, southwest of Quito. Similar incidents have occurred in the United States recently, including one where a care facility mistakenly pronounced a resident dead and she woke up “gasping for air” at a funeral home. Another incident involved a young woman who opened her eyes right before being embalmed.

Ecuador’s health ministry confirmed that Montoya died from an ischemic stroke after spending a week in intensive care. The ministry stated that she had remained under “permanent surveillance,” but did not provide further details on the investigation. Barbera Montoya revealed that he had not yet received any official reports and expressed dissatisfaction with the situation. He shared that the deceased woman’s sister has lodged a formal complaint and is seeking to identify the doctor who initially declared her dead.

The remains of Montoya, a retired nurse, are currently back at the same funeral home where she woke up. Her son stated that she will be buried at a public cemetery. Meanwhile, a technical committee has been established to review the hospital’s process of issuing death certificates, according to Ecuador’s ministry of health.