Five charged over Liam Payne's hotel plunge death: One Direction star's friend Rogelio Nores is among three accused of 'manslaughter' while 'staff who sold him drugs' are ordered into custody
Five people have been charged in connection with One Direction star Liam Payne's death in Argentina, including one of the British singer's closest friends.
Rogelio 'Roger' Nores, who claims he left Liam at the CasaSur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires at least 40 minutes before he fell to his death, is accused of negligent homicide, according to respected online newspaper Infobae.
Mr Nores, who vehemently denies abandoning the singer before he died, is not believed to be in custody but has reportedly been banned from leaving Argentina.
Braian Paiz, a waiter who admitted to using drugs, including cocaine, with the singer, has been charged with supplying narcotics for payment. CasaSur employee Ezequiel Pereyra has also been charged with supplying drugs.
Hotel managers Gilda Martín and Esteban Grassi have been charged with manslaughter.
All five have been summoned to appear in court - but only two have been ordered into custody: Paiz and Pereyra, Infobae said today.
The One Direction star died on October 16 after falling from a third floor balcony at the CasaSur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was just 31 and had a young son, Bear, with Cheryl Cole.
His death shocked the world and raised questions about how he had fallen from his balcony. His room had been smashed up.
Liam Payne's last post on Snapchat before he fell to his death from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires. Five people have been charged over his death
Roger Nores has denied being responsible for the death of One Direction singer Liam Payne, claiming the star was 'playful' in the hours before he died. He has been charged with negligent homicide, according to respected online newspaper Infobae
A drone view shows the balcony on the CasaSur Hotel from where Payne fell to his death
Photo released by the Buenos Aires Police showing a TV with a broken screen and a half-full glass of champagne at the hotel room
Forensic investigators exit the hotel where the former One Direction singer was found dead after falling from a balcony in Buenos Aires
Police launched a wide-ranging investigation into his death and previously Nores denied being a suspect.
A 911 call the day the singer died warned that he had been acting aggressively and could have been under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Grassi, the chief receptionist, claimed Liam called down 'insistently' to ask for alcohol, and to ask where he could get cocaine - allegedly insulting a member of staff who said he could not help.
Further to this, text messages purporting to have been exchanged between Liam and an escort in which he offered her $5,000 (£3,900) to 'party'.
It came as reports suggested a psychiatrist had emailed Nores to advise it was 'impossible' to continue supporting Liam with his mental health - and to warn of the risks associated with mixing antidepressants and alcohol.
Alleged dealers Braian Nahuel Paiz and Ezequiel David Pereyra, a former employee at the Buenos Aires hotel, said they were 'retaining their right to remain silent' during a previous hearing in front of Laura Bruniard.
Following a police investigation, both defendants were charged with the crime of supplying narcotics for payment, which could lead to a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
Braian had told an Argentine TV journalist last month he had taken marijuana and the former One Direction star snorted cocaine during a rendezvous at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel, where Payne was staying shortly before his death.
A photo showing Braian Nahuel Paiz with Liam Payne, allegedly during their first arranged meeting at a hotel
Paiz has admitted to two hotel meetings with the 31-year-old
Mr Nores reportedly met Liam Payne in 2020 and had been pictured with him in Argentina before the singer died. They were very close friends
Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson in 2013
More floral tributes left in honour of Liam Payne in his hometown of Wolverhampton
But Braian insisted in his interview with Guillermo Panizza on Telefe Noticias: 'I never took drugs to him or accepted any money.'
Pereyra, 21, identified locally as the hotel worker suspected of delivering drugs to Liam in a Dove soap box, has made no public comment so far since it emerged he had been placed under formal investigation.
Nores told a TMZ documentary examining Payne's death that he was 'in good spirits and perfectly balanced' the day he died as he refuted claims the singer was intoxicated and acting erratically shortly before his October 16 fatal fall from his third-floor hotel balcony.
The businessman, fighting accusations he abandoned his pal before his death amid claims he was Liam's 'de facto' manager, has previously protested his innocence after being named locally as one of the men under investigation.
He said in a statement last month: 'I never abandoned Liam, I went to his hotel three times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened.
'There were over 15 people at the hotel lobby chatting and joking with him when I left.
'I could have never imagined something like this would happen.
'I gave my statement to the prosecutor on October 17 as a witness and I haven't spoken to any police officer or prosecutor ever since.
'I wasn't Liam's manager. He was just my very dear friend.'
Grassi and Martin have been identified as two of the three men pictured carrying the singer back up to his room from his hotel lobby shortly before his fall.
The chief receptionist, who made an emergency 911 call moments before the 31-year-old singer died, has not made any public comment since being named as one of the suspects.
Tests have shown the singer binged on alcohol and cocaine before he died and also had traces of an antidepressant in his system.
Funeral directors place a floral tribute which says 'Daddy' outside the funeral service of One Direction singer Liam Payne
An emotional Harry Style departs the funeral of fellow One Direction bandmate, Liam Payne
One Direction singer Niall Horan (left) is pictured at Payne's funeral alongside former One D star, Zayn Malik (right)
Liam Payne and Roger Nores are pictured here in West Hollywood in June this year
Payne pictured at the Kiss FM Studio's on September 03, 2019
Liam Payne (left) and Kate Cassidy attending the Fashion Awards 2022
Prosecutors also made it clear the idea that Liam had committed suicide had been ruled out and said he was in a state of 'semi or total unconsciousness' as he fell to his death from his hotel balcony when he 'didn't know what he was doing.'
They said of the hotel worker and the alleged 'drug dealer': 'The second suspect is a hotel employee who must respond for two proven supplies of cocaine to Liam Payne during the time he was in the hotel.
'The third is also a drug dealer who is being investigated on suspicion of another two clearly proven supplies of cocaine at two different times on October 14.'
The recent publication of the last photo of Liam, showing him being carried back up to his room from his hotel lobby shortly before his fall by three men said to include Mr Grassi, has led to speculation in Argentine media that the court investigation could eventually become a manslaughter probe.
Horrified tourist Bret Watson, who saw Liam fall to his death, revealed to TMZ earlier that the tragedy will forever remain 'burned into his brain.'
'It's something that's been burned into my brain and something I'm never going to forget,' Mr Watson admitted.
It comes after Liam's girlfriend reportedly agreed to be interviewed by Argentinian Police as they continue their investigation into the pop star's tragic death.
Kate Cassidy was with Payne just two days before he died when he fell from the third floor of a Buenos Aires hotel on October 16.
The 25-year-old is not under investigation for any wrongdoing, instead she will provide a witness statement to provide police with an insight into Payne's final days.
In words reported by the Daily Mirror, a source claimed that Ms Cassidy is speaking with the force because 'she wants the right people to be brought to justice'.
The source said: 'She's going to help in any way she can, she wants the right people to be brought to justice, and if that takes her answering their questions, she's going to do it.
'Obviously, there's no reason for her not to cooperate, she tried for a long time to help him get clean, and is still haunted by what happened. Anyone who provided drugs to Liam should be prosecuted, she says.'
