Liam Payne‘s friend Roger Nores and two hotel workers have been exonerated of the charges against them for the former One Direction singer’s death last year.
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Payne tragically died on October 16 following a fatal fall from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Argentine prosecutor’s office has revealed that the 31-year-old’s cause of death was due to multiple traumas and internal and external bleeding.
Following Payne’s death, five people were arrested and charged in connection to his death. Among those arrested were Nores and two members of staff at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel Gilda Martin and Esteban Grassi.
Nores was charged with negligent homicide, while Martin and Grassi were charged with manslaughter. All charges against the three of them have now been dropped, per a Rolling Stone report.
Nores, who had been friends with Payne and was with him in Argentina, claimed to have left the singer on his own on the day of his death, though he maintained that he’s never provided the singer with drugs or alcohol, and had in the past reached out the Payne’s family out of worry for the singer’s well-being.
Rolling Stone reports that a panel of judges from Argentina’s Court of Appeals ruled that Nores, Martin and Grassi played no part in Liam Payne’s death.
The ruling, obtained by Rolling Stone, reads on Nores’ exoneration: “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.”
The ruling continued: “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.”
Nores said of his acquittal in a statement to 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.”
As for hotel workers Gilda Martin and Esteban Grassi, the pair were charged with manslaughter for carrying the allegedly passed out singer up to his hotel room shortly before he fell to his death.
The judges, per Rolling Stone’s report, have ruled that Martin and Grassi did not act in a “thoughtless, reckless, or merely negligent behaviour”, and that they played no role in the singer’s death. Additionally, the judges say that the case does not damage the “good name and honour” of Nores, Martin and Grassi.
The two remaining personnel who were previously arrested and charged in Payne’s death – Ezequiel Pereyra and Braian Paiz – are to remain behind bars while they await trial. For both of their parts, Pereyra and Paiz have been accused of suppling Payne with drugs – some of which were found in his body following the post-death toxicology report.
In November, Paiz broke his silence, admitting that he met the late One Direction singer twice before his death and confessed to taking drugs with him. However, he insisted that he never supplied Payne with narcotics nor accepted any money from him.
Both Paiz and Pereyra could face four to 15 years in prison if found guilty. Paiz will also reportedly have to pay a $4,900 fine.
Last month, a hearing at Buckinghamshire Coroner’s Court confirmed that Payne’s death was the result of “polytrauma”, which refers to multiple traumatic injuries sustained by a body’s organ systems.
Elsewhere, Payne’s friend Roger Nores recently filed a federal defamation lawsuit against the late star’s father Geoff for defamation. In the lawsuit, Nores alleged that Geoff submitted a sworn declaration to Buenos Aires police stating that Nores had “full responsibility for Liam’s care during this last period when I was not there.”
Nores, however, denies this and states in the lawsuit that he “never agreed to be and was never the caretaker of Liam.” He went on to say while they were “dear friends”, it was never a paid job. He alleges the statements in the sworn declarations are defamatory and has claimed they have caused him damages amounting to over $10million (£8.1million) but added that he would donate any money he’s awarded from the lawsuit to Liam’s son, Bear.
