Died in ‘agony’: Coroners testify in trial against Maradona’s medical team 

One of two forensic experts who performed Diego Maradona’s autopsy has told a court in Buenos Aires that the Argentinian football legend suffered “agony” for at least 12 hours before he died.

The results of the autopsy were made public for the first time on Thursday amid the trial of seven doctors and nurses who treated him at his Buenos Aires home before his death in 2020. The trial started on Tuesday.

“The heart was completely covered in fat and blood clots, which indicate agony,” Carlos Cassinelli, director of forensic medicine at the Scientific Police Superintendency, told the court.

The autopsy concluded that Maradona died from acute pulmonary oedema secondary to congestive heart failure.

He was not a patient who should have been treated at home, Cassinelli added.

“This is a patient who had been collecting water over the days; that’s not acute. This was something that was foreseeable,” he said. “Any doctor examining a patient would find this.”

According to the prosecution, the accused professionals – a neurosurgeon, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, doctors, and nurses – who were caring for Maradona during his convalescence, failed to provide adequate medical care, which allegedly led to his death.

During the investigation, several witnesses testified that they noticed Maradona’s face and abdomen were excessively swollen.

Among those on trial are Leopoldo Luque, Maradona’s personal physician for the last four years of his life, and psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, who prescribed medication that Maradona took until the time of his death.

The defendants in the case are accused of “homicide with possible intent” – pursuing a course of action despite knowing it can lead to their patient’s death.

The medics risk prison terms of between eight and 25 years.

The footballing legend died at the age of 60 in a private residential complex north of Buenos Aires. He had undergone brain surgery a few weeks earlier.

Investigators say serious mistakes were made in the home care of the 1986 World Cup winner, whose health was severely compromised.

Nearly 120 witnesses are expected to testify in the long-delayed trial anticipated to run until July.