Chile Top Court Closes Probe of Allende Death

Chile's Supreme Court has formally closed an investigation into the death of socialist president Salvador Allende, reaffirming that he committed suicide during a 1973 military coup.

In a divided decision dated January 6, the court rejected two appeals seeking to reopen the case on grounds that Allende could have been shot to death by soldiers.

But the court found that the evidence did not support that view, and instead showed that the cause of death was consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The judge who investigated Allende's death concluded in 2012 that the former president had shot himself with a single bullet fired into his chin on September 11, 1973 after the presidential palace had come under aerial bombardment.

After ordering the evacuation of the building, Allende withdrew to the palace's "Salon Independencia," the judge found.

Allende sat down on a sofa, placed a rifle he was carrying between his legs, propped its barrel against his chin, and pulled the trigger, according to Carroza's finding.

A military regime led by General Augusto Pinochet seized power and ruled Chile until 1990.

More than 3,200 people were killed or vanished under the Pinochet regime.