Maradona's ex-bodyguard arrested for alleged lies in testimony at trial of late star's medical team
Seven healthcare professionals are on trial at an Argentine court accused of negligence in Maradona's death in a house outside Buenos Aires on Nov. 25, 2020.
On Tuesday, following a request from the prosecutor's office, the criminal court in the Buenos Aires suburb of San Isidro ordered Julio César Coria to be investigated for false testimony. He was arrested and remained in custody Tuesday afternoon.
Coria was one of the people who attempted to resuscitate Maradona.
According to the prosecution, the accused professionals didn't provide adequate medical care.
Coria testified in court on Tuesday that when he entered Maradona's room, he saw nurse Gisela Madrid and psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, both defendants in the case, performing CPR. He added that Cosachov gave Maradona 'mouth-to-mouth resuscitation' for a while.
The prosecution warned Coria that he lied when he denied in court having spoken with another of the defendants, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque.
'There are countless chats between Luque and Coria, which demonstrate a cordial and almost friendly relationship, and the witness denied having had any conversation,' Ferrari said.
Luque, Maradona's personal physician for the last four years of his life, performed surgery to remove a blood clot from the former footballer's brain just weeks before his death.
The 28-year-old daughter of Maradona, Jana, testified Tuesday that Luque and Coria suggested 'home hospitalization' when the clinic authorities recommended that Maradona remain hospitalized.
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Advertisement 'Hey Brother i need to come get the chech (sic) you got one with you or are you going to be around later,' Smith texted Murdaugh on June 3, four days before the slayings. Murdaugh replied that he would be back that afternoon and that he 'had to deal with some bulls**t this morning.' 13 Alex Murdaugh, right, confers with defense attorney Jim Griffin during his double murder trial. AP 13 A headstone was recently erected for Randolph Murdaugh III and Elizabeth Alexander next to the grave markers for Paul and Maggie Murdaugh at Hampton Cemetery. Daniel William McKnight Advertisement 13 South Carolina Department of Corrections inmate Alex Murdaugh. AP 'Ok Brother just give me a holler,' Smith texted, later adding, 'Leaving the house now.' The day before the murders, Murdaugh texted Smith, 'Call me back.' Within a span of two minutes the morning after the murder, Smith texted Murdaugh, 'Tell me what I heard is not true,' and, 'Call me please.' 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AP 'And he has not been prosecuted. [He's] wandering the streets, I heard maybe out of the state, and we're perplexed why Eddie Smith has been given this preferential treatment when once Alex was convicted, there was no reason not to go ahead and prosecute him,' said Harpootlian. 'Everybody else has pleaded guilty. Everybody else that was indicted has pleaded guilty except Eddie Smith. Now these texts would have given us additional information we believe, and I've talked to [co-counsel] Jim Griffin. It might have made the difference in us calling him to the stand or not calling him to the stand. So yes, they're important.' Advertisement Murdaugh is already appealing his conviction, based in large part on accusations of jury tampering by Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill. She was arrested and charged with obstructing justice and misconduct in that incident. She was also charged with perjury in Richland County in relation to the case, after allegedly lying to State Supreme Court Justice Jean Toal during 2024 appellate proceedings. 'We have an appeal based on errors made by the judge during the trial, and of course, the attempt by — or maybe she did — the efforts by the Clerk of Court, Becky Smith, to fix the jury. And that's a huge issue,' said Harpootlian. 'Many of the people we've had look at the appeal believe we have a substantial chance of getting a new trial, just based on the jury tampering.' 13 Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian speaks to the media outside the Colleton County Courthouse after his defendant Alex Murdaugh was sentenced. AP Advertisement 13 Murdaugh is already appealing his conviction, based in large part on accusations of jury tampering by Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill. AP 13 Alex Murdaugh speaks with his legal team before he is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. AP He said if they do not win a new trial, there is a possibility that they will file a habeas petition seeking to have the conviction vacated on the same grounds. 'The state's brief on the underlying appeal is due Aug. 8,' he said. 'We have up to 30 days to reply. Then the Supreme Court decides whether to have argument, whether to grant it, whether deny it, and that could take months,' he said, adding that if the appeal is granted Murdaugh will get a new trial. Advertisement Harpootlian says he expects the state's high court to have a ruling on the appeal by early next year at the latest. 'And again, there are all kinds of debates about the evidence and how it was allowed in by the trial judge and whether it should have been excluded or allowed in. And those certainly are important. And we think there's several of them, individually, would give us a new trail,' he said. 13 Harpootlian says he expects the state's high court to have a ruling on the appeal by early next year at the latest. Daniel William McKnight 13 Alex Murdaugh arriving at court, flanked by law enforcement. Daniel William McKnight for NY Post 'But more important is a judge, former Chief Justice of Supreme Court, had an evidentiary hearing on Becky Hill's conduct in which she found: A) Becky Hill was not credible, and B) that Becky Hill did attempt to influence jurors to convict Alex Murdoch. She told several of her coworkers that she was writing a book, and it would be better for book sales if Alex was convicted. So we think that, and there is no clear state precedent on whether that's enough, but there's a clear federal precedent that we should get a new trial. So again, I think we should hear something before the end of the year or early next year.' Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! A retrial would likely look very different, Harpootlian said. With Murdaugh having already pleaded guilty to financial crimes, that aspect would be excluded, narrowing the scope to forensic and factual evidence. The lead attorney believes Murdaugh has a strong defense. 'We had a six-week trial last time because of the financial misconduct. That won't happen again,' Harpootlian said. 'And when you look solely at the forensic evidence, I believe it overwhelmingly proves Alex did not kill Paul and Maggie.' The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, which led the investigation, and Prosecutor Creighton Waters did not return comment requests.
