at the time, few of allende's supporters believed the explanation that allende had killed himself. allende's body was exhumed in may 2011. the exhumation was requested by members of the allende family, including his daughter isabel who viewed the question of her father's death as "an insult to scientific intelligence." a scientific autopsy was performed and the autopsy team delivered a unanimous finding on 19 july 2011 that allende committed suicide using an ak-47 rifle. the team was composed of international forensic experts to assure an independent evaluation.