The inquiry into the cardiac arrest-related death of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona has resulted in the indictment of eight individuals who provided care for Maradona.
In a 236-page document obtained by Reuters, the presiding judge questioned “the behaviors – active or by omission – of each of the defendants that led to and contributed to the realization of the detrimental result.”
Eight individuals, including doctors, nurses, and a psychologist, who cared for Maradona at the time of his death in 2020 are charged with “simple homicide,” a serious offense that involves the intentional taking of a life. A medical board created to investigate Maradona’s death determined in 2021 that his medical team operated “inappropriately, inadequately, and irresponsibly.”
Maradona was regarded as one of the best football players in history, despite his years of drug and alcohol abuse. He was known as “Pelusa” for his long hair and “D10S” as a play on the Spanish word for “God” using the number on his shirt.
A lawyer for one of Maradona’s sons, Mario Baudry, told Reuters that the World Cup champion was “helpless” at the time of his death. Maradona passed away on November 25, 2020, at age 60.
“The moment I saw the cause, I knew it was murder,” he claimed. “I struggled for a very long period, and now this stage is complete.”
Shortly after Maradona died in a residence near Buenos Aires, Argentinian prosecutors initiated investigations, including the search of his personal physician’s property and the interrogation of those engaged in his care. The verdict was cited as defendants Maradona’s neurosurgeon and personal physician, Leopoldo Luque; his psychiatrist, Agustina Cosachov; his psychologist, Carlos Diaz; two nurses, Gisella Madrid and Ricardo Almiron; their supervisor, Mariano Perroni; and two physicians, Pedro Di Spagna and Nancy Forlini.
The defendants have denied any responsibility for the killing of Maradona. The judge stated that attorneys for some of the defendants had urged the dismissal of the case.
Cosachov’s attorney, Vadim Mischanchuk, stated that an appeal would be filed and that the psychiatrist’s area of expertise had no bearing on the cause of death. “A guilty party is sought at any cost, and objectivity is gone,” stated the attorney.
Reuters was unable to reach the defendants or the other attorneys immediately for comment.
According to Argentina’s penal code, the punishment for the crime of “simple homicide” is typically between eight and twenty-five years in jail. There is currently no definite date for the trial.
