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Maradona bodyguard details star's final days in court testimony
🇵🇦 Panama /Crime & Justice

Maradona bodyguard details star's final days in court testimony

From TVN Panamá · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Under investigation
  • A bodyguard testified in the trial of medical staff accused in the death of football legend Diego Maradona.
  • The bodyguard described Maradona's final days, noting he ate little, suffered incontinence, and was often bedridden with alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
  • The trial in San Isidro, Argentina, aims to determine responsibility among the medical team who cared for Maradona after his surgery.

The trial into the death of football icon Diego Maradona has heard stark details of his final days from a bodyguard who lived with him. Aníbal Domínguez testified that the "Ten" ate little, suffered urinary incontinence, and spent days in bed, exhibiting symptoms of alcohol withdrawal.

Diego was in a bad mood, treated everyone badly.

— Aníbal DomínguezThe bodyguard described Maradona's state in the weeks before his death.

Domínguez, who worked for Maradona since 2015, stated the football legend was "in a bad mood, treated everyone badly" in the weeks before his death on November 25, 2020. He recounted difficulties in waking Maradona and convincing him to bathe or eat, adding that the star sometimes could not reach the bathroom in time.

He had to come and he wasn't coming.

— Aníbal DomínguezThe bodyguard told the court about the lack of frequent visits from Maradona's doctor.

The trial in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, involves Maradona's medical team, who are accused of eventual homicide. The bodyguard told the court he had urged Maradona's personal doctor, Leopoldo Luque, who is a principal defendant, to visit the patient more frequently. "He had to come and he wasn't coming," Domínguez said.

Diego was lost and had tremors.

— Aníbal DomínguezThe bodyguard relayed Maradona's condition to the doctor, attributing it to alcohol withdrawal.

Audio recordings played during the hearing captured the bodyguard telling Luque that Maradona was "lost and had tremors," which both attributed to alcohol withdrawal. Despite these struggles, Maradona had requested a car ride on the night of November 20, which the bodyguard provided, acknowledging that denying the star's wishes could lead to worse reactions. "The boss was Diego," he told the court, which included two of Maradona's daughters.

The boss was Diego.

— Aníbal DomínguezThe bodyguard explained the difficulty of denying Maradona's requests.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by TVN Panamá in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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