Diego Maradona in long agony before death - forensics expert

One of the forensic experts responsible for performing Diego Maradona's autopsy said the Argentine football great suffered agony for at least 12 hours before he died and noted that "any doctor" should have noticed symptoms several days earlier.

Carlos Cassinelli, director of Forensic Medicine at the Scientific Police Superintendency, on Thursday provided details of the autopsy performed the day of Maradona's death -- Nov. 25, 2020 -- during home hospitalization in a house located in the Buenos Aires municipality of Tigre.

"The heart was completely covered in fat and blood clots, which indicate agony," the specialist said during the homicide trial for seven health professionals.

The autopsy concluded that Maradona died from acute pulmonary edema secondary to congestive heart failure.

"This is a patient who had been collecting water over the days; that's not acute. This was something that was foreseeable," Cassinelli said. "Any doctor examining a patient would find this."

According to the prosecution, the accused professionals -- a neurosurgeon, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, doctors, and nurses -- who were caring for Maradona during his convalescence failed to provide adequate medical care, which allegedly led to his death.

During the investigation, several witnesses testified that they noticed Maradona's face and abdomen were excessively swollen.

Among those on trial are Leopoldo Luque, Maradona's personal physician for the last four years of his life, and psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, who prescribed medication that Maradona took until the time of his death.

Nurse Gisela Madrid, who was also indicted, will be tried by a jury later this year.