The seven healthcare professionals accused of neglecting the health of Diego Maradona will be tried starting on the next March 17 in a new oral process in Argentina for the death of the football idol, which occurred five years ago, reports AP.
The San Isidro court, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, announced on Wednesday the date for the new trial. It also called for a preliminary hearing to be held within a week.
In one of the biggest scandals in Argentina's judicial history, the first trial was annulled on May 29 due to the unauthorized filming of a documentary during that process involving one of the judges of the court, Julieta Makintach.
The scandal about the documentary production erupted two months after the start of the process and when over 40 witnesses had testified amid great global anticipation.
Precisely because of that fact, the suspended judge will start, from Thursday in the city of La Plata, the capital of the province of Buenos Aires, a trial for misconduct in her duties, which could lead to her dismissal.
The new judicial process will seek to determine the circumstances of Maradona's death from a heart attack on November 25, 2020, at the age of 60, during home care in a rented house on the outskirts of the capital. There, he was recovering from surgery he had undergone two weeks earlier in a private clinic to remove a subdural hematoma in his head.
The prosecution argues that during the home care, the seven accused professionals did not adequately care for the health of the captain of the Argentine national team that won the 1986 World Cup.
The accused face charges of simple homicide with eventual intent, which is when the perpetrator knows that their actions can cause harm, yet continues with the action. The offense carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
Among the main accused are the neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, the psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, and the psychologist Carlos Díaz; also implicated are the doctors Nancy Forlini and Pedro Di Spagna; Mariano Perroni, representative of the company that provided the nursing service, and the nurse Ricardo Almirón. They all played a role in Maradona's home care and deny acting negligently.