Legend of the Ghost of Dr. José Raimundo Russi

Legend of the Ghost of Dr. José Raimundo Russi is one of the many urban legends surrounding the historic neighborhood of La Candelaria in Bogotá.

According to the legend, during lonely nights and early mornings, a spectral figure can be seen wandering through the Square of Bolívar. He is elegantly dressed in a cape and a wool suit. This spectral figure is said to belong to the distinguished lawyer, José Raimundo Russi.

Origin of the Legend of the Ghost of Dr. José Raimundo Russi

Russi was a prominent 19th-century lawyer who became highly recognized for defending the causes of the poor. He especially championed the causes of the artisans’ guild, who opposed another sector of the city called the free-traders (librecambistas), a group made up mostly of wealthy individuals from high society.

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Raimundo was accused of the murder of Manuel Ferro, the city’s locksmith. Ferro also belonged to a gang of thieves known as “The Thieves of the Mill’s Bucket Street”. This gang committed many ingenious robberies, ranging from faking a wake (funeral) to wooing a wealthy widow.

They committed these robberies primarily against the city’s wealthy residents. In 1850, Manuel Ferro was murdered with four stab wounds in front of Dr. José Raimundo Russi’s house. Ferro did not die immediately; instead, he agonized for several hours. In his agony, he repeatedly called out Russi’s name. This detail, combined with the fact that he died in front of the lawyer’s home, became the prosecution’s main argument for charging Russi.

After a trial lasting months, Dr. Russi was found guilty. Throughout the entire trial, in which Russi chose to represent himself, he maintained his innocence of all charges. After being found guilty, Russi was sentenced to death by firing squad.

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The sentence was carried out in 1851, and he was executed by firing squad in Bogotá’s Square of Bolívar. Dr. José Raimundo Russi was the last condemned person to be executed by firing squad in the history of Bogotá.

Dr. José Raimundo Russi in History and Culture

The figure of Russi has become not only an urban legend of ghosts and specters but also a historical milestone, as he was the last person executed by firing squad in Bogotá. His skull, bearing the bullet hole from the execution, is on display at the National Museum of Colombia.

Russi’s story has inspired television series, such as El enigmático Doctor Russi (The Enigmatic Doctor Russi, 1984), which was part of the show Revivamos nuestra historia (Let’s Relive Our History). Books have also been written about him, including: Los ojos del Basilisco (The Eyes of the Basilisk) by Germán Espinosa, El caso Russi (The Russi Case) by Fernando Iriarte, and El último caso del Doctor Russi (The Last Case of Doctor Russi) by Javier Riveros.

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Even today, people debate whether Russi was truly guilty or innocent. What is never questioned is that his ghost remains one of the many enigmas surrounding the La Candelaria neighborhood in Bogotá.