The results of the autopsy have been announced for the first time in the trial into the death of Argentinian football star Diego Maradona in 2020. According to media reports, two medical examiners testified that he had undergone a dying phase lasting up to twelve hours.
28.03.2025, 00:08
28.03.2025, 06:47
SDA
Maradona had water retention in many organs, such as his abdomen and lungs, said the forensic pathologists who carried out the autopsy at the time. The cause of death was therefore acute pulmonary edema due to heart failure and dilated cardiomyopathy, i.e. a heart muscle disease, according to local media reports.
More than four years after Maradona's death, seven doctors and nurses are on trial. They are accused of manslaughter, but deny the accusations. According to the investigators, massive mistakes were made in the home care of the world champion of 1986, who was in a serious state of health.
Sensitive images are shown in the courtroom
Before the forensic experts made their statements as witnesses, those present were warned about the powerful images that would be shown. Maradona's daughter Jana then left the room. The Argentine idol died on November 25, 2020 in a private residence north of Buenos Aires at the age of 60. A few weeks earlier, he had undergone brain surgery.
Maradona's death was neither sudden nor unexpected, forensic expert Carlos Mauricio Cassinelli said in court, according to the Argentinian newspaper "La Nación", among others. His heart was fat and weighed twice as much as a normal heart.
A total of 4.5 liters of water had accumulated in various organs. The accumulation of water in the organs had begun several days earlier. Maradona was not a patient who should have been treated at home.
The trial is expected to last until at least mid-July
The public prosecutor's office is accusing Maradona's personal physician, his psychiatrist, a psychologist, another doctor, the medical coordinator of the health insurance company and two nurses of manslaughter. If convicted, they face prison sentences of up to 25 years.
The trial began just over two weeks ago. The start had previously been postponed twice because a number of legal issues were still unresolved. The trial is now expected to last until at least mid-July, with a total of 192 witnesses summoned. The trial against another nurse was separated from the main proceedings. The woman will have to stand trial before a jury in the second half of the year.
