In the Buenos Aires outskirts where Diego Maradona spent his final days under home medical care, the central question of his death is returning to the courtroom: was it a prolonged and unattended decline, or an abrupt cardiac event that no treatment could have prevented?
The trial over Maradona’s death resumes on Tuesday with evidence from Pablo Ferrari, a forensic doctor and official expert for the San Isidro justice system. Ferrari took part in a 2025 examination requested by the defence of Leopoldo Luque, the principal defendant, and concluded that the former Argentina captain died suddenly from acute heart failure.
His testimony carries particular weight because it diverges sharply from the account presented by other court-appointed experts earlier in the proceedings. Those witnesses described a lengthy agony, an assessment that supports prosecutors’ contention that Maradona spent his last hours without adequate medical supervision. Ferrari’s conclusion, by contrast, would strengthen the defence case that the death was unavoidable.
Experts called by the defence have recently supported the view that Maradona’s death came suddenly, but Ferrari is the only official court expert to reach that finding. For Luque, identified throughout the case as the doctor responsible for Maradona’s health, the distinction is fundamental.
Maradona died on 25 November 2020 while recovering at a house outside Buenos Aires after surgery for a subdural haematoma. He was 60. The former Napoli and Barcelona star, whose life had long linked Argentina to football cities across Europe, had been placed under treatment at home following the operation.
A trial entering its closing phase
Ferrari’s report was produced during the original proceedings into Maradona’s death, which were later voided in May because of the conduct of one of the judges. The case began again from the beginning on 14 April 2026.
After 43 hearings and 75 witnesses, the court has reached the final stage of testimony, with witnesses summoned by the seven defendants’ legal teams now being heard. Closing arguments from the six private complainant groups and the seven defence teams are scheduled to begin on 6 October.
Alongside Luque, those on trial are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov; Nancy Forlini, Swiss Medical’s home-care coordinator; psychologist Carlos Díaz; nursing coordinator Mariano Perroni; nurse Ricardo Almirón; and clinical physician Pedro Di Spagna. Each is charged with simple homicide with eventual intent, an allegation centred on whether they accepted the possibility that inadequate care could lead to Maradona’s death.
