Judges on Thursday declared a mistrial in the culpable homicide case surrounding the 2020 death of soccer legend Diego Maradona.
The announcement came after Judge Julieta Makintach was forced to step down due to her involvement in a controversial documentary dramatizing the very trial she was overseeing.
The series, titled “Divine Justice”, triggered outrage when its trailer aired — showing Judge Makintach striding through court halls in glamor shots set to suspenseful music, intercut with Maradona’s career highlights.
Prosecutors argued her participation undermined judicial impartiality and breached ethical standards, especially since scenes were filmed inside the courthouse during closed-door sessions.
“Judge Makintach did not act impartially. Her conduct caused harm to both the plaintiffs and the defense,” said Judge Maximiliano Savarino as he announced the mistrial. “The only person responsible is the recused judge.”
The courtroom reaction was emotional. Maradona’s daughters, Dalma and Gianinna, broke down in tears as their long-awaited path to justice was abruptly reset.
The original trial had run for 21 sessions since opening on March 11, drawing intense national attention and dominating headlines.
The accused — including Maradona’s primary doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist, nurses, and a medical coordinator — all face charges of culpable homicide.
Prosecutors allege the team failed to adequately monitor Maradona’s recovery after brain surgery, leaving him to die in agony over 12 hours in a rented home, rather than admitting him to a hospital.
The defense, however, argues Maradona was a volatile and non-compliant patient who refused care.
Maradona, a towering cultural icon known for both his divine talent and personal demons, died of cardiac arrest on November 25, 2020. He was 60. Revered for leading Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986, his turbulent life has long straddled the line between triumph and tragedy — and this trial has mirrored that tension.
A new panel of judges will now be selected by lottery. No date has been set for the retrial.
Until then, justice for El Diez remains as elusive as one of his slaloming runs through the English defense.
