Maradona's ex-security guard testifies he was 'fine' night before death

Buenos Aires — Julio Coria, former security guard for Diego Armando Maradona, testified Wednesday in the trial over the football legend's death, providing details about the morning of his death and stating that, hours earlier, the former footballer "was fine."

Coria was one of Maradona's security employees during the last year of his life and was at the house where the 'Ten' died on November 25, 2020, while undergoing home treatment.

Details of the Testimony

The last time Coria saw Maradona alive was the night before his death, when he entered his room to fix a problem with the light switch.

"I fixed the switch, asked him if he needed anything else, and he said no. He was lying down, covered up. He greeted me with a kiss. Then I left and stayed outside in the yard, where the nurse was," Coria testified.

The witness said he saw nothing different about Maradona that night. When questioned by the lawyers of the star's primary care physician, Leopoldo Luque, he insisted that "he was fine" — a version that contradicts what other witnesses reported, who highlighted the idol's deterioration during his final days.

Coria's account was questioned by the prosecution, which presented a conversation that took place two days before the idol's death, in which the guard told Luque that Maradona had not gotten out of bed all day.

Morning of November 25

On the morning of November 25, Coria woke up early and saw nurses Ricardo Almirón and Gisela Dahiana Madrid changing shifts. The guard said he did not see either nurse enter Maradona's room, a description consistent with last week's testimony from Jonathan Pomargo, a nephew of the star who lived in the house with him.

After washing up upstairs, Coria greeted psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov and psychologist Carlos Díaz, who had come to see Maradona.

"They went in to see Diego and came out saying he didn't want to see them, that he didn't receive them. Then Maximiliano Pomargo (Maradona's assistant), Jony, and nurse Madrid went in. That's when they said he wasn't responding, and that's when I went in," Coria recalled.

According to his account, the nurse was trying to revive Maradona, and Coria began giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation: "I don't know if it was 15 minutes or an hour, for me it was an eternity."

An Initial Accusation

In the first trial, annulled in May 2025 due to misconduct by one of the judges, Coria was accused by prosecutor Patricio Ferrari of perjury, for claiming he had no connection to Dr. Luque, the main defendant in the trial, when there was evidence indicating they had a friendship. The court then ordered his immediate arrest, and Coria was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, though he was released days later.

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Both Luque and psychiatrist Cosachov, nurse Almirón, and psychologist Díaz are charged in this trial, along with:

• Nancy Forlini, Swiss Medical home care coordinator
• Pedro Di Spagna, clinical physician
• Mariano Perroni, nursing coordinator

All are accused of simple homicide with eventual intent.