Maradona ‘was in agony’ before he died, says autopsy doctor

Diego Maradona “was in agony” before he died and his heart weighed “almost twice as much” as normal, one of the doctors who performed his autopsy said Thursday at the trial of health professionals accused of negligence in the former footballer's death.

There were “signs of agony” in the victim’s heart, said Mauricio Cassinelli, a medical examiner who examined Maradona’s body in the house near the city of Tigre, north of Buenos Aires, when the star died.

Casinelli, who also took part in an autopsy hours later in San Isidro, said the agony could have started “at least 12 hours” before the idol's death and should’ve been noticed.

Autopsy results place the legendary footballer’s passing at between 9am and midday local time on November 25, 2020.

Maradona had been accumulating water in his lungs for “at least 10 days” before his death due to “heart failure” and “liver cirrhosis,” according to Casinelli, who said that his nurses and doctors should have noticed the symptoms.

The heart “weighed almost twice what a normal heart weighs for an adult person” and the size was due, among other factors, to a “dilated myocardium,” the doctor said. 

The autopsy also failed to detect “neither alcohol nor toxins” in Maradona’s blood, he added.

A second doctor, Federico Corsaniti, who also participated in the autopsy, said in video testimony to the court Thursday that he agreed with his colleague’s conclusions.

Corasaniti said that the condition was “neither sudden nor unforeseen” and that it was easily detectable: “It was just a matter of placing a finger on his legs, feeling his belly, taking the stethoscope and listening to his lungs, looking at the colour of his lips,” he said.

Maradona’s brain was heavier than normal, as were his lungs, which were “full of water,” Casinelli told the court during his testimony. 

Both doctor’s agreed that the cause of death was “acute pulmonary edema secondary to exacerbated congestive heart failure.”

Autopsy video

During the hearing that took place in San Isidro, a suburb of Buenos Aires, video fragments of Maradona's autopsy were played to the court.

One of the star's daughters, Jana, was present at the hearing after testifying as a witness on Tuesday, although she left the courtroom swiftly when the autopsy images were projected.

Earlier this week, on Tuesday, another witness, Maradona's former bodyguard Julio Coria, was arrested on suspicion of providing false testimony. For now, he has refused to testify and remains under police custody.

His lawyer, Gastón Marano, told reporters Thursday at the courthouse gates that Coria “will make a written statement” soon.

Seven health professionals (doctors, nurses, a psychiatrist and a psychologist) are accused of intentional homicide, a crime that implies that they were aware that their actions could cause the death of the ill-fated star. 

An eighth defendant, also a nurse, will be tried in a separate trial later this year.

Maradona, who led Argentina to World Cup glory during a career that took in spells at Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona and Italy's Napoli, died at home while under the care of the defendants following neurosurgery.

Casinelli noted during testimony that the house where Maradona died did not seem to him “a suitable place for a domiciliary internment.”

The trial, which began on March 11, will last at least until July. More than 100 witnesses are expected to testify. 

Those in dock fiercely defend their innocence. They face between 8 and 25 years in prison.

– TIMES/AFP