In the second trial concerning the death of Diego Armando Maradona, his former partner Verónica Ojeda burst into tears this Thursday as she lashed out at the doctors accused of failing to safeguard the health of the Argentine soccer star.

Ojeda, who has a son with Maradona named Diego Fernando, specifically targeted neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, and psychologist Carlos Díaz—members of the medical team in charge of the former footballer’s care.

Broken with grief, she labeled them "murderers" and accused them of manipulating Maradona’s family. She further asserted that Matías Morla, Maradona’s legal representative, "is the one who directed all these henchmen, doctors, and the entire inner circle" of the captain who won the 1986 World Cup.

"They killed my son's father. My son needed his dad, his hugs," said Ojeda, who was in a relationship with Maradona from 2005 to 2014 and had previously testified in a first judicial process that was annulled late last year.

Maradona died of a heart attack on November 25, 2020, while undergoing home hospitalization at a residence on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. At the time, the 60-year-old icon was recovering from surgery performed two weeks earlier at a clinic to remove a subdural hematoma.

The seven health professionals currently on trial played various roles in the home hospitalization. All deny acting negligently. According to Ojeda, Luque and his colleagues manipulated Maradona’s relatives to evade scrutiny of their medical performance. "He told me one thing and the daughters another, so that we would never be united," she said, referring to Dalma and Gianinna, Maradona's daughters with Claudia Villafañe.

In his latest statement to the court, Luque denied such behavior and maintained that home hospitalization "was the best option." "I was not the owner of Diego’s health as they claim," the neurosurgeon added.

The defendants face charges of homicide with eventual intent, which occurs when the perpetrator knows their conduct could cause harm but continues the action regardless. It is punishable by a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. In addition to Luque, Cosachov, and Díaz, the defendants include doctors Nancy Forlini and Pedro Di Spagna, nursing service representative Mariano Perroni, and nurse Ricardo Almirón.

Ojeda described the house where Maradona recovered as "a disaster" that was not in proper condition due to filth. She noted that her former partner did not have a full bathroom near his ground-floor bedroom and used a urinal next to the bed. "There was a terrible smell; you couldn't be in there." She questioned how Cosachov and Luque could assure that the home would have adequate medical instruments when "there wasn't even a blood pressure monitor."

Maradona was "totally disfigured, swollen, angry, insulting everyone and wanting to see no one," Ojeda concluded.