Court Upholds Sentence Against German Colonist Willi Malessa Boll for Concealing Bodies from Colonia Dignidad

Original article: Justicia confirma condena a colono alemán Willi Malessa Boll por desenterrar y hacer desaparecer cuerpos que estaban enterrados en Colonia Dignidad

The Santiago Appeals Court has confirmed the sentence against former member of Paul Schäfer’s security group, German colonist Willi Ferdinand Malessa Boll (pictured), sentencing him to six years in prison as an accessory to the aggravated kidnapping of Juan Bosco Maino Canales, Elizabeth de las Mercedes Rekas Urra (who was pregnant at the time), and Antonio Elizondo Ormaechea.

The crimes occurred starting in May 1976, when, after being detained in Santiago, the trails of these individuals vanished in the German settlement located in the municipality of Parral.

In a unanimous ruling (case role 3.071-2025), the Third Chamber of the court, composed of judges Pedro Caro Romero and Paula Rodríguez Fondón, alongside minister Lidia Poza Matus, upheld the contested sentence initially handed down by extraordinary visiting minister Paola Plaza González.

According to the ruling, «the proven behaviors of the accused fit the definition of an accessory to the crime, as outlined in article 17 No.2 of the Penal Code, which states that those who knowingly assist in the commission of a crime or simple offense without being active participants, and subsequently intervene by ‘hiding or disposing of the body, effects, or instruments of the crime to prevent its discovery’ are considered accessories.»

The ruling further states, «Indeed, the established facts indicate that the accused knowingly collaborated with a criminal act executed by others, consciously favoring it and perpetuating the uncertainty regarding the fate of the kidnapped individuals, as he was entrusted with the exhumation of bodies buried in ten graves, each containing at least four corpses, in addition to the disappearance of vehicles.»

The appellate court noted that «the exhumations carried out by the accused, alongside the burial of vehicle parts, do not consist of isolated acts disconnected from the aggravated kidnapping, which cannot legally be classified as independent crimes such as illegal exhumation as the defense claims; rather, they form a chain of interconnected acts that integrate a singular criminal framework.»

This, added the court, «makes Malessa Boll an accessory to the crimes of kidnapping, which constitute crimes against humanity.» For more details, see the full ruling HERE.

El Ciudadano