Judge rules Liam Payne’s death was caused by attempting to escape hotel through balcony
An Argentinian judge has ruled that Liam Payne died trying to escape his hotel room through the balcony while in a drugged state.
Payne died on October 16th after falling from a balcony on the third floor of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was later revealed by the prosecutor’s office that his cause of death was due to suffering multiple traumas as well as internal and external bleeding. A toxicology report later determined that Payne had cocaine, alcohol and an antidepressant in his system at the time of his death.
Earlier this week, the manager of CasaSur, Gilda Martin, and Estaban Grassi, the hotel receptionist, were charged with wrongful death along with Payne’s friend, Roger Nores. Two more hotel workers, Braian Paiz and Ezequeil Pereyra, have been charged with supplying drugs to Payne.
At a court hearing on December 30th, Judge Laura Bruniard said of the wrongful death charges against Nores, Martin and Grassi: “I do not believe that (Nores, Martin, and Grassi) planned and wanted Payne’s death. They did not plan the result but created a legally disapproved risk.”
Bruniard also highlighted the trio’s alleged “imprudence and negligence”, which she claimed resulted in Payne’s death. Nores was initially charged with abandonment followed by death, which has now been lowered to the lesser charge of wrongful death.
Nores was a close friend of Payne who was supposed to act as his point of contact at the hotel and be his “position of guarantor.” Bruniard said that “Payne’s state of vulnerability was evident” upon Nores leaving the hotel before the singer fell to his death 50 minutes later.
After being locked in his room, Bruniard ruled Payne was “trying to leave his room through the balcony” prior to the fall. She continued: “Payne’s consciousness was altered and a balcony was in the room. The proper thing to do was to leave him in a safe place, and with company, until a doctor arrived.”
While Bruniard believes the hotel workers “did not act maliciously”, she claimed they were “imprudent” with their approach. Bruniard added: “I maintain that (Payne) tried to leave from the balcony of the place where he was left because the forensic experts noted that he did not lose his balance. This is how the fall occurred.”
Bruniard also ruled that Nores “should have consulted with a doctor given the commitment made to the family of the deceased. He should have done this without trusting how the hotel employees could have dealt (with Payne).”
Pereyra and Paiz, who have been charged with selling cocaine to Payne, are set to face preventative jail time ahead of their trial. Paiz’s attorney, Fernando Madeo Facente, has told Rolling Stone: “This resolution does nothing more than demonstrate what we maintain as a ‘witch hunt’ ought to be carried out in this case. (They’re) looking for guilty parties and accusing innocent people of committing crimes.”
At this stage, there is no date set for the trials of the five individuals charged in connection with Payne’s death. The singer’s funeral took place in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, in November.
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