Teen claiming to be Diego Maradona's son demands football legend's body be exhumed for DNA match
Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona died at the age of 60 on Wednesday, November 25, leaving a devastated world in his wake. Several news reports stated he died due to cardiac arrest just two weeks after getting discharged from the hospital after he had surgery for a blood clot in his brain.
However, in light of his death, a teenager, who claims to be Maradona's son, has demanded the exhumation of the soccer legend’s body. Santiago Lara instructed his lawyer to make the move less than 24 hours after the Argentinian star was buried. This is Santiago's latest attempts in trying to prove that he is the legitimate son of the former footballer. Santiago's battle began in 2014, when he was just 13. He saw a magazine cover with Maradona's face on it, and his pixellated face undernearth. Santiago, the supposed sixth child of the former forward, spoke for the first time four years ago of his fight to prove Maradona's paternity. His mother, Natalia Garat, had died at the age of 23 in 2006, after an alleged seven year on-off relationship with Maradona. The footballer has five children, including two that he took years to recognize and accept as his.
Natalia’s ex-boyfriend Marcelo Lara raised Santiago. The teenager told his lawyer to start action to prove that he was Maradona's son, when the footballer was still alive, but they failed to reach an amicable settlement with his legal team. Santiago told Telemundo programme 'Suelta la Sopa': “My mum sadly died when I was just three years old but days before her death, when she had to remove her ventilator to speak, she told a group of lawyers I was Diego’s son. I just want to know who I am. The financial side of things is not something that matters to me. I know this demand is going to cause major turmoil in Argentina but if I don’t do this, who is going to give me the DNA?”
On an Argentian TV show, his lawyer, Jose Nunez, made these startling revelations and said, "We’re talking about a young lad who has been left in the dark about who he really is. Santiago didn’t come here today because he’s suffering emotionally. Not only does he not know who he is but he couldn’t say goodbye to his father.”
In the four-page document filed by the lawyer and his partner Juan Benitez, they demand of the exhumation and preservation of Maradona's body until DNA tests can be carried out “so Santiago Lara can obtain his true identity”. It also says that the youngster found out about the death through the media, which caused him much anguish and worry.
The document, submitted to La Plata Family Court Number Seven, adds on the third of the four pages: “We ask you to submit through the chain of custody, the detailed results of the autopsy and lifeless body of Diego Armando Maradona. We request the sealing of the coffin containing Diego Armando Maradona’s body so it can be transferred to La Plata’s judicial morgue for its preservation. We ask that Jardin Bella Vista Cemetery receive the order to exhume the remains of Diego Armando Maradona so they can also be transferred to the same morgue.”