Maradona medical team on trial four years after icon's death

Seven medical professionals who cared for Argentine football legend Diego Maradona during his final days go on trial Tuesday accused of criminal negligence over his death.

After several postponements, the first hearing is scheduled for 9:30am local time at Oral Criminal Court No. 3 in the town of San Isidro, just north of Buenos Aires.

Maradona died on November 25, 2020 aged 60 while recovering from brain surgery for a blood clot, after decades battling cocaine and alcohol addictions.  

Each defendant risks between eight and 25 years in prison if convicted of "homicide with possible intent" — allegedly for pursuing a course of action despite knowing it could lead to the footballer's death.

The passing of ‘El Diez’ plunged Argentina into mourning in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.

During three days of national grieving, tens of thousands of people queued to bid farewell to the former Boca Juniors and Napoli striker as his body lay in state.

More than 100 witnesses, including members of Maradona's family and doctors who tended to him over the years, are expected to take the stand in the long-delayed trial in the Buenos Aires suburb of San Isidro.

The hearings are expected to run until July.

Warning signs

Maradona was found dead in bed two weeks after going under the knife, in a rented house in an exclusive Buenos Aires neighbourhood where he was brought after being discharged from hospital.

He was found to have died of a heart attack. 

An autopsy ruled the 1986 World Cup star had expired from “an acute lung oedema secondary to acute/chronic heart disease.” He was also found to have had “dilated cardiomyopathy.” 

The night nurse said he had seen "warning signs" but had received orders "not to wake" Maradona.

The defendants facing the court are neurosurgeon and family doctor Leopoldo Luciano Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, psychologist Carlos Ángel Díaz, medical coordinator Nancy Forlini, nursing coordinator Mariano Perroni, clinician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna and nurse Ricardo Omar Almirón.

The day nurse who found Maradona dead, Dahiana Gisela Madrid, asked to be tried by jury separately.

Prosecutors have accused the medical team of pushing for Maradona to receive home care, which proved "reckless" and "totally deficient."

They allege the footballer was abandoned to his fate for a "prolonged, agonising period" before his death.

A panel of 20 medical experts convened by Argentina's public prosecutor concluded in 2021 that Maradona "would have had a better chance of survival" with adequate treatment in an appropriate medical facility.

The residence where he was staying notably had no defibrillator.

Maradona's family claim that leaked audio and text messages show that the star's health was in imminent danger, said Mario Baudry, a lawyer for Maradona's son Dieguito.

He said the messages showed the medical team's strategy was to try and ensure that Diego's daughters did not intervene "because if they did, they (the medical staff) would lose their money."

In his request to bring the case to trial, judge Orlando Díaz questioned “the conduct that each of the defendants had displayed, not complying with the duty of good medical practice placed on their shoulders.”

'Justice for Diego'

The accused all deny responsibility in the star's death.

Vadim Mischanchuk, lawyer for psychiatrist Cosachov, said he was "very optimistic" of an acquittal, arguing his client was in charge of Maradona's mental, not physical health.

In the La Paternal neighborhood of Buenos Aires where the player nicknamed "El Pibe de Oro" (The Golden Boy) revealed his prodigious talent as a player for Argentinos Juniors in the 1970s, graffiti urging "Justice for Diego!" was daubed on walls ahead of the trial. 

Two of Maradona’s daughters, Dalma and Gianinna, repeatedly called on social networks for ‘justice’ for their father’s death, a request joined by thousands of Argentines.

"All society needs to know... what really happened, who abandoned him... and whoever is responsible must pay the price," pensioner Hilda Pereira told AFP.

Maradona "did not deserve to die as he died, alone," she added, her voice quavering.

For its part, Argentina's left-wing Página 12 newspaper wondered: "Will anyone be found guilty for Maradona's death?" 

— Times/AFP