Buenos Aires, March 11 (EFE).- The trial over the death of football legend Diego Maradona began Tuesday in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the prosecution and plaintiffs arguing that he was “abandoned” and was the victim of a “murderplan.”
Meanwhile, defense attorneys divided their strategies, with some shifting blame onto the main defendants. The trial, expected to last up to five months, will feature at least 92 witnesses.
Proceedings started around 10:45 am at Criminal Court No. 3 in San Isidro, located at the north of Buenos Aires province.
Seven healthcare professionals, accused of simple homicide with eventual intent, came face to face with Maradona’s three daughters.
During the hearing, Prosecutor Patricio Ferrari presented a never-before-seen photograph of Maradona bedridden, intubated, and visibly swollen. “This is how Maradona died,” Ferrari told the court.
The image was reportedly taken on November 2020, the day of the football star’s death, though Ferrari did not clarify whether it was the last photo taken before he ed or one taken post-mortem.
Ferri argued that the defendants left Maradona in a state of “neglect” and “at the mercy of fate” by placing him under private medical care at home instead of in a hospital.
“They voluntarily assumed responsibility for his home treatment while failing to meet their professional duties,” he stated.
Defendants on trial
The two central figures in the case are neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, one of Maradona’s doctors who pushed for home care, and psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, accused of mismanaging Maradona’s medication, ignoring its side effects, and falsifying a medical visit certificate.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Fernando Burlando, representing Maradona’s daughters, Dalma and Giannina Maradona, accused the medical team of orchestrating an “inhumane and effective plan” that led to the footballer’s death.
“Maradona was murdered”, Burlando declared, insisting that even in a poorly equipped hospital, “his life would have been saved.”
Divided defense strategies
Among the accused is nurse Dahiana Madrid, who has requested a jury trial and will be judged in a separate process in the second half of the year, once the main trial concludes.
Defense teams have taken different approaches. While the lawyers for Luque and Cosachov are arguing for acquittal, others are distancing their clients from responsibility by blaming the two lead defendants.
Attorney Rodolfo Baqué, representing nurse Ricardo Almirón, argued that if there is criminal liability in Maradona’s death, it should fall solely on Luque a Cosachov, not on those handling istrative tasks, corporate paperwork, or nursing duties.
The trial is expected to be one of Argentina’s most closely watched legal battles, as the country seeks ability for the death of its greatest football icon. EFE
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