The forensic expert conducted the examination at the behest of one of the main defendants, Maradona’s neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, in an attempt to challenge a 2021 medical examination that declared Luque and other doctors responsible for what he called the death of the soccer star, who could otherwise be would be avoided. The defendants denied any violations or irregularities in Maradona’s treatment.
Maradona, who led Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup and the final four years later, died of a heart attack in 2020 while recovering from brain surgery.
His death at the age of 60 stunned and devastated a generation of soccer fans and sent all of Argentina into mourning. Within days, the country was gripped by questions about his final, troublesome hours, and a frenzy of suspicion intensified as police raided his homes and doctors’ offices and Maradona’s family pressured the justice system to intervene.
Ultimately, prosecutors charged eight medical workers with manslaughter – a grave charge that leaves open the possibility of alleged intent and carries a prison sentence of eight to 25 years. The trial is scheduled to start on June 4.
A report by medical examiner Pablo Ferrari released on Monday concluded that Maradona’s rapid and irregular heartbeat was either of natural origin or the result of an “external” factor, possibly a drug such as cocaine that Maradona had abused in the past. Ferrari said he could not prepare a toxicology report based on Maradona’s insufficient urine sample. The findings contradict those of the 20-member medical commission appointed to investigate Maradona’s death. A 2021 report accused Maradona’s medical team of “improper, defective and reckless action” that left the footballer in agony and without facilitate for more than 12 hours before his death.
Ferrari’s report disputes the seriousness of the episode, saying the arrhythmia could not have caused agony lasting more than “a few minutes or at most a few hours.”
“This marks a radical turn in the case,” Vadim Mischanchuk, a defense lawyer representing Maradona’s psychiatrist, Agustina Cosachov, told local media. “This cardiac event lasting many days turned into lasting minutes.”
Prosecutors criticized the expert’s report, which was hastily prepared within 72 hours, and accused Ferrari of neglecting four years of evidence in favor of “the minimal piece of evidence presented by the defense.”
“There are no twists in the case,” prosecutors say.
