Diego Maradona’s bodyguard who was with legend on day he died ARRESTED in ‘house of horrors’ case over star’s death
DIEGO Maradona’s former bodyguard has been arrested in the investigation into the player’s death.
His final days have been described in court as a “House of Horrors”, and now Julio Cesar Coria — who worked closely with Diego — has been detained after a dramatic twist in the trial of seven medics accused over the star’s care.
Prosecutor Patricio Ferrari accused Coria of lying under oath, prompting trial judges to order his immediate arrest.
He had given evidence as a witness at the ongoing trial, which started on March 11 and is set to continue until the summer.
Coria, 48, had worked with Maradona for five years and was with him at the house in Tigre, near Buenos Aires, where he died of heart failure on November 25, 2020.
He attempted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as the Napoli star lay unresponsive in bed.
Coria had been called as a witness due to his close relationship with the star – but Ferrari told the court he falsely claimed he hadn’t spoken to Diego’s doctor, Leopoldo Duque, before the death and wasn’t a friend of his.
WhatsApp messages revealed the pair had discussed Maradona’s health and even arranged a barbecue.
Coria also reportedly failed to mention in his initial statement that psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov had attempted CPR — only to later claim she had on the witness stand.
Judges ordered his arrest following a brief recess.
He was later seen being driven away in a patrol car, handcuffed in the back seat.
Luque, Cosachov, and five other health workers are on trial for homicide with possible intent, a charge carrying up to 25 years behind bars.
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 was reclassified to homicide after a damning medical board report found Maradona’s team had acted “inadequately, deficiently and recklessly.”
To convict, the court must find the medics acted in a way they knew could kill — and did nothing to stop it.
Ferrari told the court at the start of their trial Diego spent the last days of his life in a ‘House of Horrors’ after he left hospital and agreed to home care.
During opening arguments, Ferrari held up a photo of Maradona lying in bed with a bloated stomach under a lifted black T-shirt and told the courtroom: “This is the way he died.”
Luque, who denies wrongdoing, broke down in tears days after Maradona’s shock death following a search of his home near Buenos Aires.
He claimed: “If I’m responsible for anything when it comes to Diego, it was loving him, caring for him, improving his life to the end and extending it.”
After his death, it emerged Maradona had been buried without his diseased heart – which, at 503 grams, weighed almost double that of a normal heart for a man his age.
Doctor and journalist Nelson Castro said at the time part of the reason had been to prevent obsessed fans from stealing it.
The first court session was streamed live online but it was subsequently decided not to continue with that policy.
Maradona’s daughter Jana today told the court during her evidence her sisters Dalma and Gianinna had wanted to get their dad admitted to a clinic before his death but said Leopoldo Luque had rejected the idea.