Overview
- The trial’s final expert witness, Pablo Ferrari, told the court on Tuesday that Maradona died of a cardiorespiratory arrest secondary to ventricular failure that produced acute pulmonary edema and that the agonal period was short, likely minutes rather than many hours.
- Ferrari said no COVID-19 swab was taken during the autopsy and argued that an infection cannot be ruled out, a point prosecutors questioned because it was not part of his original report.
- Ferrari was appointed for an expert examination requested by the defense in 2025 and is the only official perito at the debate whose conclusions support a sudden-death timeline, making his testimony a key piece of defense strategy.
- The court fixed October 22, 2026 as the end of the oral debate; defendants may expand statements on September 29, prosecutors and plaintiffs will present closing arguments on October 8, 13 and 14, defenses will speak October 20–22, and a verdict could arrive in December.
- Forensic and procedural gaps flagged by Ferrari—specifically the missing swab and limits to the autopsy protocol—could narrow the timeline prosecutors must prove and influence how judges and jurors assess medical responsibility for Maradona’s 2020 death.