Diego Maradona suffered “around 12 hours” of agony before his death, one of the forensic doctors who carried out his autopsy told the court on Thursday, as graphic images from the post-mortem examination were shown during the trial into the football legend’s death in 2020.
The estimated duration of pain suffered by Maradona has become a key point in the proceedings, which aim to determine the responsibility of the medical team that treated the retired footballer in the month leading up to his death from pulmonary oedema and cardiorespiratory arrest at the age of 60.
“How long did the agony last? I couldn’t tell you exactly. We estimate around 12 hours of agony,” said Carlos Casinelli, one of the doctors who performed the autopsy on the former national team captain.
According to Casinelli, Maradona’s body showed “bilateral pleural effusion, anasarca, 350 cubic centimetres of urine in the bladder, acute tubular necrosis – all signs of hypoxia. These indicate a prolonged, not sudden, agony.”
Earlier this week, another forensic expert involved in the autopsy, Federico Corasaniti, also testified that the condition of Maradona’s heart suggested “a prolonged agony.”
For prosecutors, the estimated period of suffering supports the allegation that members of the medical team failed to properly care for the former footballer, contributing to his death.
Defence lawyers have challenged both the length of the agony and whether it had any bearing on the fatal outcome.
All of the accused deny wrongdoing in the case, in which they face charges of homicide with possible intent – a legal classification meaning they were allegedly aware their actions could lead to death.
Seven healthcare professionals – including doctors, a psychiatrist, a psychologist and a nurse – face prison sentences of up to 25 years if convicted.
An eighth defendant, the nurse on duty when Maradona died on November 25, 2020, will face a separate jury trial.
‘Water everywhere’
Casinelli’s testimony was accompanied by photographs and video footage from the autopsy, prompting one of Maradona’s daughters, Gianinna Maradona, to leave the courtroom.
The forensic expert repeatedly stressed the extent of the fluid retention found in Maradona’s body – a point echoed by several specialists who have testified during the trial.
“Normally there should be no water. He had three litres in his abdomen. That doesn’t develop in one or two days – this had been building for more than a week, maybe 10 days,” Casinelli said.
As he spoke, courtroom monitors repeatedly displayed one of the incisions made during the autopsy of the man who led Argentina to victory at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
Several lawyers visibly winced at the graphic nature of the images and audio.
“There was fluid in the abdomen. His face was swollen, his fingers were swollen, his feet, everything. He had generalised oedema. There was water everywhere,” Casinelli said.
The witness later faced a tense cross-examination from the defence team representing Leopoldo Luque, the neurosurgeon and personal doctor widely regarded as the principal defendant in the case.
At times, the exchange descended into shouting, with Casinelli acknowledging inconsistencies in previous statements regarding the methods he used to confirm the presence of oedema in Maradona’s body.
It is the second attempt by the courts to establish the circumstances surrounding Maradona’s death after the original trial was annulled in 2025 when it emerged that one of the judges had taken part in the production of a clandestine documentary about the case.
– TIMES/AFP
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