During the first hearing of the trial for the death of Diego Maradona, prosecutor Patricio Ferrari presented a key image as evidence against the accused health professionals. "This is how he died," said Ferrari while holding the photograph that, according to him, shows the extreme negligence in the care of the former footballer. The image shows Maradona in bed at the time of his death, visibly swollen and unwell, with signs of severe deterioration.
In his presentation, the prosecutor accused the doctors of having abandoned the football idol in his last days, stating that the treatment team did not take appropriate measures to assist him. The scene caused shock in the courtroom, where family members of the Ten and supporters of his cause attentively observed the progress of the trial.
The trial for the death of Diego Armando Maradona will begin on Tuesday, March 11 at 9:30 AM in the Oral Criminal Court (TOC) No. 3 of San Isidro. The case is named "Causa Luque and others" (Case No. 5628) and has seven health professionals accused of alleged "simple homicide with eventual intent," a legal figure that carries penalties of 8 to 25 years in prison.
The accused are: Leopoldo Luque (neurosurgeon), Agustina Cosachov (psychiatrist), Ricardo Almirón (nurse), Mariano Perroni (head nurse), Pedro Pablo Di Spagna (clinical doctor), Nancy Edith Forlini (Swiss Medical coordinator), and Carlos Díaz (psychologist). Meanwhile, nurse Gisela Dahiana Madrid will face a jury trial in a later instance.
Maradona passed away on November 25, 2020, at the age of 60, in his home in the San Andrés country club in Tigre, due to a cardiopulmonary arrest secondary to acute pulmonary edema. The investigation suggests that the accused professionals did not provide adequate medical attention, which allegedly resulted in his death.
The photo reflects an alarming state of neglect, reinforcing the prosecutor's hypothesis of a lack of medical oversight and the absence of responses to the deterioration of his health condition. The trial will unfold over several hearings and is expected to last several months, with the testimony of numerous witnesses and experts.
