Oral Court No. 7 in San Isidro, just outside Buenos Aires, closed the hearings on Thursday and told the parties the ruling would be announced on 22 December at noon local time, according to Infobae.

Prosecutors are chasing a prison term of up to 12 years for neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, Maradona’s personal doctor and the central figure in the case, together with a 10-year ban from practising medicine. He is one of six defendants still on trial for homicide with possible intent in the 2020 death of the former Argentina captain.

A seventh defendant walked away on Thursday. Prosecutors withdrew the charges against clinical physician Pedro Di Spagna during closing arguments, and the court formally acquitted him, ending his involvement in the case.

What each defendant is facing

The sentences the prosecution has asked for, according to the breakdown published by Los Andes, vary with each defendant’s role in Maradona’s care:

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• Leopoldo Luque, neurosurgeon: 12 years plus a 10-year professional ban
• Nancy Forlini, home-care coordinator: 10 years plus a 10-year ban
• Agustina Cosachov, psychiatrist: 8 years plus a 10-year ban
• Carlos Díaz, psychologist: 5 years plus a 10-year ban
• Mariano Perroni, head of nursing: 4 years plus an 8-year ban
• Ricardo Almirón, nurse: 4 years plus an 8-year ban

Maradona died on 25 November 2020 at the age of 60, found in his bed at a rented house in Tigre, north of Buenos Aires, where he was recovering from brain surgery. The cause of death was recorded as heart failure with pulmonary oedema. The case against the six remaining defendants is built on the argument that his death was foreseeable and that the care arranged for him at the house fell short of what his condition required.

“I am innocent”

The main defendants used their final statements to reject the charges. Luque told the court he had defended his position all the way through the trial.

“I am innocent, I defended my innocence throughout every hearing and I say it again today,” he said in his closing remarks, reported by Infobae.

Cosachov, the psychiatrist who had treated Maradona for years, framed her own defence around what she said was her effort to help him.

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“I did everything I could to help him,” she said.

Nurse Almirón also addressed the court.

“My conscience is clear because I did my job,” he said.

Dalma Maradona: “The justice he deserves”

Maradona’s daughter Dalma was in court this week for the closing stage and told reporters she wanted the ruling to match what she sees as the gravity of her father’s death.

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“I hope my father receives the justice he deserves, like anyone else,” she said, in comments carried by the Manila Times wire.

The three judges on Oral Court No. 7 will read their decision at noon on 22 December in San Isidro.

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