“Bardalet and I met in hell”

2023-10-16 06:30:25

After the success of “El pantà maleït”, Tura Soler returns with “Rigor mortis”, a book in which the writer and journalist acts as the confidant of the well-known forensic scientist Narcís Bardalet. In his pages, Bardalet reflects on life and death based on cases that have marked his career. Based on the book, TV3 will premiere a series at the end of October that will feature the forensic scientist.

How and when did you meet Narcís Bardalet?

I met him on July 19, 1986, when a plane crashed in Albera and Bardalet went to collect the corpses of the crew. I was an intern at El Punt. There was a fire and we were caught in the fire. That’s why we say that Bardalet and I met in hell.

This day seems to have marked her.

I remember it very well because I thought it would be the last day of my life. I saw myself dead. Bardalet walked with a handkerchief in the style of a far-west robber, to protect himself from the smoke. We got away thanks to the fact that the civil guard who accompanied us was an expert in the area.

Bardalet walked with a handkerchief in the style of a far-west robber, to protect himself from the smoke. We got away thanks to the fact that the civil guard who accompanied us was an expert in the area

Next to every news reporter, is there a reliable forensic scientist?

I guess so, I don’t know. I have always had a tendency to observe the work of the coroner, which in criminal research is very important when investigating the causes of death, but also when evaluating the living. A coroner’s statement is key to a defendant being found not guilty.

Why is he interested in Bardalet’s life to the point of writing a book about it?

I know him very well and he is a fascinating and very interesting man. I already told him once that he could be made into a series like that of Commissioner Montalbano, only that Bardalet is a completely real character.

When Bardalet started, he worked in terrible conditions, without refrigerators.

Yes, I heard this not only explained to Bardalet but also to other forensics. In Figueres one day they were doing the autopsy, they connected a mechanical saw (until recently they did it with chatter) to open a skull, the cable was wet with water and they almost electrocuted themselves.

With everything he’s been through, Bardalet says he can sleep easy.

It is clear that he does not have a bad conscience. As a forensic scientist, he has a lot of humanity. He always says that a dead person is the most vulnerable person there is, that he has no way to defend himself. Dealing with the dead does not dehumanize but humanizes.

In Figueres one day they were doing the autopsy, they connected a mechanical saw (until recently they did it with chatter) to open a skull, the cable was wet with water and they almost electrocuted themselves

And you, who have seen as much as Bardalet, can you sleep well?

Even if it seems like a lie, I sleep well. It’s true that I go to sleep with work. It’s not that we don’t suffer for the fate of the victims, we do. By force you try to have a distance that allows you to have your safety space so that it does not end up affecting you.

Being so close to death, conditions, does it make you different?

I think that, in my case, it makes you see the weakness of life. No matter how careful you are, death is not up to you. In reality, the scythe woman lurks anywhere.

The line is very fine.

The line is very fine. Anyone can be a victim, or a victimizer.

At the end of October, a series with the forensics premieres on TV3.

Narcís Bardalet is the protagonist and I will comment on the cases. We have been recording on the plane that fell where we met.