Diego Maradona`s former bodyguard has been arrested as part of the investigation into the football legend`s death.
Julio Cesar Coria, who was close to Maradona, was detained after dramatic developments in the trial of seven medical professionals accused of neglect in his care. The court has described Maradona`s final days as a “House of Horrors”.
Prosecutor Patricio Ferrari accused Coria of lying under oath, leading judges to order his immediate arrest.
Coria had been testifying as a witness in the ongoing trial, which began on March 11 and is expected to last until the summer.
Coria, 48, worked with Maradona for five years and was present at the house in Tigre, near Buenos Aires, where Maradona died of heart failure on November 25, 2020.
He reportedly attempted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation when the Napoli legend was found unresponsive in bed.
Coria was called as a witness due to his close relationship with Maradona. However, prosecutor Ferrari stated that Coria falsely claimed he had not spoken to Maradona`s doctor, Leopoldo Duque, before his death and was not a friend of Duque.
WhatsApp messages revealed that Coria and Duque had discussed Maradona`s health and even planned a barbecue.
It is also reported that Coria initially failed to mention in his statement that psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov had attempted CPR, only to later claim she had done so while on the witness stand.
Judges ordered his arrest after a short break in the proceedings.
Luque, Cosachov, and five other health professionals are on trial for homicide with possible intent, which carries a potential sentence of up to 25 years in prison.
The other defendants include nurses Ricardo Almiron, Nancy Forlini, and Mariano Perroni; psychologist Carlos Diaz; and doctor Pedro Di Spagno.
Nurse Gisella Dahiana Madrid will be tried separately later this year.
The case was initially treated as manslaughter but was upgraded to homicide after a medical report found Maradona`s medical team acted “inadequately, deficiently and recklessly.”
To secure convictions, the court must find that the medical team acted in a way they knew could be fatal and did nothing to prevent it.
Prosecutor Ferrari told the court at the trial`s opening that Maradona spent his final days in a ‘House of Horrors` after being discharged from the hospital for home care.
During his opening statement, Ferrari displayed a photo of Maradona in bed with a swollen stomach under a lifted shirt, stating, “This is the way he died.”
Luque, who denies any wrongdoing, was emotional after Maradona`s death and during a search of his home near Buenos Aires.
He stated, “If I am responsible for anything regarding Diego, it was for loving him, caring for him, improving his life until the end, and prolonging it.”
After Maradona`s death, it was revealed that he was buried without his enlarged heart, which weighed 503 grams, almost double the normal weight for a man his age.
Doctor and journalist Nelson Castro said this was partly to prevent fans from stealing it.
The initial court session was live-streamed online, but this policy was later discontinued.
Maradona`s daughter Jana testified in court today that her sisters Dalma and Gianinna wanted their father admitted to a clinic before his death, but Leopoldo Luque opposed the idea.
