The bodies of four Colombian hostages executed by the FARC after more than 11 years in captivity were returned to their families in Bogota Tuesday.
The remains were delivered to Colombia’s capital Sunday night, hours before the arrival of the sole survivor of the slaughter, police officer Luis Alberto Erazo.
Before they were delivered, the bodies were in the hands of the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. Twenty experts conducted the autopsies, which took “longer than usual,” according to radio station W Radio.
Legal Medicine director Carlos Eduardo Valdes said that the time-consuming nature of the procedures was necessary in determining the exact cause of death and the identification of the deceased.
Investigations concluded the men had been shot from a distance of less than five feet, three receivng bullets to the head and one to the back. “These facts are clarified and the truth is known,” Valdes said following the autopsies.
The coffins were delivered to two separate wakes, before all being transferred to the “Catedral Primera” for a memorial mass.
The hostages were members of the Colombian military and police force who were executed by the FARC during an armed forces offensive Saturday.