Two doctors who performed an autopsy on Argentine football legend Diego Armando Maradona said he was "in pain" and his heart weighed "almost twice its normal weight" during their testimony at the trial of the medical team, accused of negligence that potentially contributed to the 1986 World Cup winner's death.
Mauricio Cassinelli, the forensic pathologist who examined the body of the former Napoli star in a house in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, where he died at the age of 60, and then during the autopsy carried out a few hours later, said there were "signs of suffering" in the heart.
According to Cassinelli, the pain could have started "at least 12 hours" before the football icon's death. He estimated that the autopsy was performed between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. local time (12 p.m. and 15 p.m. GMT) on November 25, 2020.
He also revealed that water had been accumulating in Maradona's lungs for "at least 10 days" before his death, due to "heart failure" and "cirrhosis," which occurred two weeks after surgery. He said the medical team should have been more vigilant about these symptoms.
In the same context, another forensic pathologist, Federico Corasaniti, who also participated in the autopsy, affirmed that Maradona had "suffered enormously." According to him, there was "nothing sudden or unexpected" in his death. He added: "It was enough to place a finger on his legs, touch his abdomen, use a stethoscope to listen to his lungs and observe the color of his lips."
Cassinelli said that no traces of alcohol or toxic substances were detected during the autopsy. He also pointed out that "the weight of the heart was almost double that of a normal adult," and that the brain and lungs, filled with water, were also above their usual weight.
Among those accused of "voluntary homicide with aggravating circumstances" are neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, psychologist Carlos Díaz, medical coordinator Nancy Forlini, nurse coordinator Mariano Perroni, doctor Pedro Pablo Di Spagna and nurse Ricardo Almirón.
They face prison terms ranging from eight to 8 years in a trial that began on March 25 and is expected to continue through July, with two hearings per week and about 11 people expected to testify.
At the opening of the trial last Tuesday, prosecutor Patricio Ferrari described the events as "assassination," describing a convalescence that turned into a "theater of horrors," with a medical team where "no one did what they were supposed to do." The defendants, for their part, deny any responsibility for Maradona's death.
