Liam Payne’s friend and two hotel workers acquitted by Argentinian authorities
Liam Payne‘s close friend Roger Nores and two hotel workers at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires have had their charges dropped.
Payne died on October 16th, 2024, 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.
Following Payne’s death, an investigation was launched by authorities. In November, they arrested three people in connection to his death. However, these names were not initially released. At the end of December, it was revealed to be Nores, as well as the manager of CasaSur, Gilda Martin, and Estaban Grassi, who is an employee of the hotel.
All three were charged with manslaughter, but the charges have now been dropped. In a statement, Nores told Rolling Stone, “Glad this is finally over. I’m happy I’m now going to be able to travel to the UK and say goodbye to my friend.”
It was deemed by the authorities that Nores couldn’t have prevented Payne’s death, nor did he play a part in “obtaining and consuming alcohol” for the late pop star.
The ruling, obtained by Rolling Stone, states, “It is possible that, if he had stayed in his company at all times, [Payne] would not have obtained the drugs and alcohol in the quantities necessary for the state of intoxication he exhibited at the time of his death. But it cannot be ruled out that, even if he had taken those extreme precautions… that [Payne] would have managed to obtain the substances anyway, as is common among addicts, even when they are under the loving care of their family.”
It was also acknowledged by authorities that Nores had attempted to help get Payne clean from substances, including writing an email on August 23rd, 2024, to the singer’s parents alerting them to the situation.
“Despite accusing Nores of failing to communicate and raise alarms with the victim’s family, they remained silent about the email through which the accused had expressed his concerns and warned that he would not be able to look after Payne’s health,” the ruling stated.
Martin and Grassi from CasaSur Palermo Hotel have also had the charges dropped against them. It was ruled there was not enough evidence to suggest the pair acted with “thoughtless, reckless, or merely negligent behavior.
Two other hotel workers, Braian Paiz and Ezequeil Pereyra, remain charged with supplying drugs to Payne. The duo will remain behind bars until their trial.
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