Maradona death trial ends with verdict due on December 22

A court will deliver its verdict on December 22 in the trial over Diego Maradona’s death, after six months of hearings. Proceedings against seven healthcare professionals accused of negligence concluded yesterday, with brief statements from Maradona’s daughter and some of the defendants.

“I hope my father receives the justice he deserves…like anyone else,” said his daughter, Dalma Maradona, her voice breaking with emotion. Leopoldo Luque, Maradona’s primary doctor and the main defendant in the case, declared: “I am innocent.”

The case over Maradona’s death

Maradona died at 60 from heart failure coupled with pulmonary edema. He was found dead in his bed on November 25, 2020, at a residence in Tigre, north of Buenos Aires, which had been rented for his convalescence following minor neurosurgery.

His death plunged the country into mourning during the Covid-19 pandemic. The trial has examined accusations of negligence against the healthcare professionals involved in the case; the court has not yet delivered its verdict.

Prosecutors have requested prison sentences of between four and twelve years for six of the seven defendants. They sought the longest sentence, twelve years, for Luque.

In closing arguments on Wednesday, Luque’s defence lawyers rejected the prosecution’s argument that Maradona’s death was foreseeable. They called their client a “scapegoat” in the case. Luque’s declaration of innocence came the following day, as the proceedings reached their conclusion.

What happens next

With the hearings over, the court’s decision is due on December 22. Until then, the prosecution’s requests for prison sentences remain requests, not a verdict against any of the seven defendants.

The scheduled decision will follow six months of hearings that ended with Dalma Maradona’s appeal for justice and Luque’s denial of guilt. The court will determine the outcome of the negligence accusations when it delivers its verdict.