Maradona’s final days were described by a court as “horrific” and now Julio Cesar Coria – who worked closely with the ‘Golden Boy’ – has been remanded in custody after a dramatic turn in the trial of seven medical staff who cared for the Argentine football legend.
Prosecutor Patricio Ferrari accused Coria of perjury and asked the judge to order his immediate arrest. He is a witness in the ongoing trial, which began on 11 March and is expected to last until the summer.
Coria, 48, worked for Maradona for five years and stayed with him at his home in Tigre, near Buenos Aires, where he died of heart failure on 25 November 2020. Coria is said to have attempted CPR on the former Napoli star as he lay unconscious in bed.
Coria was called as a witness because of his close relationship with Maradona, but prosecutor Ferrari told the court he had falsely claimed he had not spoken to Diego’s doctor, Leopoldo Duque, nor was he a friend of the doctor.
However, WhatsApp messages revealed that the pair had discussed Maradona’s health and even arranged a barbecue. Coria also reportedly failed to mention in her initial statement that psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov had attempted to perform CPR on Maradona.
The judges ordered his arrest after a short break. Coria was later seen being driven away in a police car, handcuffed to the back seat. Luque, Cosachov and five other health workers are on trial for premeditated murder, which carries a possible sentence of up to 25 years in prison.
They include nurses Ricardo Almiron, Nancy Forlini and Mariano Perroni, psychologist Carlos Diaz and doctor Pedro Di Spagno. An eighth person, nurse Gisella Dahiana Madrid, will be tried separately later this year.
The case was initially treated as “manslaughter”, but the charge was changed to “murder” after a report by the medical board concluded that Maradona’s medical team had acted “inadequately, erratically and recklessly”.
