The trial for the death of Diego Armando Maradona has taken an unexpected turn with the validation of a medical report that contradicts the initial version about the Argentine star's agony.
The court in Buenos Aires, tasked with judging seven health professionals accused of homicide due to negligence, rejected the prosecution's request to dismiss the expert report stating that Maradona died abruptly and with a short agony.
According to the expert Pablo Ferrari, Maradona passed away on November 25, 2020, due to "cardiac arrest secondary to acute pulmonary edema caused by left ventricular failure" and suffered "a short-duration agonizing condition, estimated in minutes or at most a few hours."
This version contradicts a previous report from the Buenos Aires Scientific Police, which indicated that Maradona suffered cardiac failure with agony lasting up to 12 hours.
Ferrari's report, requested by the defense of two of the accused, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque and psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, will become a key piece in the trial. The court must determine whether the accused are guilty of simple homicide with eventual intent, a crime punishable by up to 25 years in prison.
The prosecution claims that the accused did not provide adequate medical attention to Maradona during his home hospitalization, which triggered his death. The trial, expected to last four months, will feature the testimony of numerous witnesses, including three police officers who entered Maradona's home on the day of his death.
For her part, nurse Gisela Madrid, also charged in the case, will be tried by a popular jury at a later stage.
