The trial for the death of Argentine footballer Diego Armando Maradona, which occurred on November 25, 2020, begins this Tuesday in San Isidro, a town on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, with seven health professionals charged with simple homicide with eventual intent.
The objective is to determine if there was a chain of responsibilities from the medical team that cared for the Argentine star during his last days of life. The trial will be held at the Criminal Court No. 3 of San Isidro, Buenos Aires Province, starting at 9:00 AM (12:00 GMT).
Maradona died at the age of 60 from respiratory failure and cardiac arrest 'in a situation of abandonment' and 'abandoned to his fate,' according to prosecutors Patricio Ferrari, Cosme Iribarren, and Laura Capra, who are in charge of the investigation. The prosecutors maintain that the accused knew they were acting improperly and expressed it in their chats, with phrases like 'he's going to die' or 'this is wrong.'
The defendants include neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, psychoanalyst Carlos Díaz, doctor and coordinator of the private health company Swiss Medical, Nancy Forlini; clinical doctor Pedro Di Spagna, nurse coordinator Mariano Perroni, and nurse Ricardo Almirón. Nurse Dahiana Madrid is also accused, who requested a jury trial and will be tried in a separate process.
In this case, four lawsuits have been filed by the five recognized children of Maradona and another one by the footballer's sisters. One of the lawsuits is from Dalma and Giannina Maradona, the footballer's daughters with Claudia Villafañe, who are represented by the media lawyer Fernando Burlando. The other three are from the minor Diego Fernando, son of Verónica Ojeda; Diego Junior and Jana Maradona (the last to be recognized). The fifth lawsuit accepted by the court is from Maradona's sisters.
The Argentine player died as a result of 'acute pulmonary edema secondary to and a chronic cardiac insufficiency exacerbated,' according to the autopsy, and a 'dilated cardiomyopathy' was found in his heart.
