Daniel Ngendahimana
A young woman named Yuleidy Ixcotoyac shocked her family after she began moving inside her coffin during her funeral. Her family had believed she was dead, but the medical reason for what happened remains unclear.
A young woman in Guatemala surprised her family and other mourners after she began moving inside her coffin while they were preparing to say goodbye to her.
The woman, identified as Yuleidy Ixcotoyac, was being mourned in El Jocote, a village in Sacapulas, Quiché, Guatemala, on Saturday, October 10, 2026.
Videos shared on social media showed people gathering around the open coffin as Yuleidy began to move. Some people appeared shocked, while others helped her sit up and get out of the coffin.
The incident was reported by several news outlets, including Prensa Libre, Infobae and TV Azteca Guatemala.
Her father thought she had died. According to reports, Yuleidy’s father, Abraham Ixcotoyac Tojin, said his daughter became unwell early in the morning.
He decided to take her to a hospital by car so she could receive medical attention. However, during the journey, he believed she had stopped breathing and no longer had a pulse.
Her father explained what happened during the journey, saying, “She left the house unconscious, and I was taking her to the hospital.”
He later explained that she did not reach the hospital, saying, “She did not enter the hospital.”
After believing that his daughter had died, the family prepared to mourn her. A coffin was obtained, and relatives, neighbours and members of their community gathered to say goodbye.
However, the situation changed when people noticed movement inside the coffin.
Yuleidy’s mother, Lesvia Ríos, also spoke about the incident.
According to reports, she had continued to hope that her daughter was still alive. She said, “I kept saying that she was alive, that she was not dead.”
The family then realised that Yuleidy was showing signs of life. People gathered around her and helped her out of the coffin. Videos of the moment later spread across social media, attracting widespread attention.
The family described the incident as a miracle. However, no publicly available medical report has confirmed that Yuleidy had been officially declared dead before she began moving.
Yuleidy also spoke about the symptoms she experienced before losing consciousness. She described the pain she felt in her chest, saying, “My chest started hurting badly. It felt heavy, and then I felt as if I fainted.”
Her account provides information about what she experienced before the incident, but it does not establish the medical cause of what happened.
Yuleidy also expressed gratitude for surviving the frightening experience. She said, “I have no way to repay God for everything He has done in my life. It was a miracle.”
Her words reflected how she and her family understood the experience after she regained consciousness.
