José Misael Roldán Concha was born on June 30, 1934, in Máfil, a town in the Valdivia Province of Chile. He was born into a large family with 14 siblings, making him the tenth child. The family lived in poverty, which made life challenging for them.

When he was just 13 years old, Roldán dropped out of school. He started working to help support his family. He found jobs in agriculture and coal mining. Roldán was described as a robust man. He stood about 1.70 meters tall and weighed around 80 kilograms. However, he was also known to be quiet and not very talkative.

In 1954, José Misael Roldán Concha killed a foreman during a fight at a coal mine. After this incident, he tried to escape to Argentina but later surrendered and was sentenced to five years in prison. He was released after one year for good behavior and placed on probation.

On June 7, 1957, while heavily intoxicated, Roldán had dinner with his family. He then went to a local shop owned by Laura Díaz Díaz to buy fruit, grabbing an iron bar on his way there. After Laura returned with the oranges he ordered, Roldán attacked her and her children with the bar. He killed Laura and five of her children, ages 1 to 14. An 11-year-old girl, Nora, who was also attacked, survived by hiding under a bed.

The murders took place in Pupunahue, in southern Chile. After the attack, Roldán attempted to destroy evidence by setting fire to a mattress and then fled into the nearby forest. Nora, having survived, woke up and put out the fire before reporting the incident to the police. Roldán was captured after a night of searching.

He confessed to the murders but did not provide a motive initially, later mentioning that alcoholism influenced his actions. The community was outraged, leading to calls for the death penalty. Roldán was sentenced to death, but later, a presidential pardon reduced his sentence to life in prison. He spent the rest of his life in prison and died without the chance of parole. The site of the murders was replaced with a memorial for the victims.