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Five people charged in Argentina in connection with Liam Payne’s death

Five people charged in Argentina in connection with Liam Payne’s death

Two hotel employees and a friend of the singer's have been charged with manslaughter, while two others have been accused of supplying drugs.
31 Dec, 2024

Five people have been charged in Argentina in connection with the death of Liam Payne, the One Direction member who died after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires in October.

Payne’s friend Roger Nores as well as the hotel’s manager, Gilda Martin, and receptionist, Esteban Grassi, have been charged with manslaughter, BBC reported. Two other hotel employees — Ezequiel Pereyra and Braian Paiz — have been charged with supplying the singer drugs.

Nores is being charged for allegedly “failing to fulfil his duties of care, assistance and help” towards the singer after having “abandoned him to his luck knowing that he was incapable of fending for himself and knowing that he suffered from multiple addictions”. Two hotel employees are suspected of having sold Payne cocaine, while the hotel manager is being prosecuted for allegedly failing to stop Payne from being taken to his room moments before his death. The court documents said the room’s balcony posed a serious threat given his state at the time and that the manager should have ensured the singer’s safety until medical help arrived. The receptionist is similarly being charged for allegedly asking three people to “drag” Payne to his room, instead of keeping him safe.

The Argentinian prosecutor’s office said a judge had decided the case would proceed to trial. The next step is for the defendant’s lawyers to decide whether to appeal the decision to go to trial. If their appeals are unsuccessful, the trial begins.

If found guilty, the manager, friend and receptionist could face sentences of between one and five years in prison. The two employees accused of supplying drugs face between four and 15 years in jail.

The judge has ordered the two men accused of supplying the drugs be remanded into custody and summoned them to appear in 24 working hours.

The 31-year-old’s death shocked the world, and raised questions about how he had fallen.

A 911 call from a hotel employee the day Payne died warned that he had been acting aggressively and could have been under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

An autopsy revealed the former boy band member had traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system when he died, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

Payne’s body was handed over to his father, Geoff, over the weekend and flown back to his native England. Over the past few weeks, Geoff had been seen alongside longtime One Direction bodyguard, Paul Higgins, at the CasaSur hotel where his son died.

Comments

BUSAIF_q8R Dec 31, 2024 02:37pm
They should actually held the Government to trial as they approved his visa and let him travel in the country and stay in hotel.
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M. Emad Dec 31, 2024 03:04pm
RIP, Liam Payne.
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Dr. Salaria Amir Ahmed Dec 31, 2024 05:36pm
My heart still cries for the beautiful, marvelous, fantastic, ambitious, gorgeous and handsome soul. RIP Liam, you are dearly missed!
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Tahmad Dec 31, 2024 06:47pm
So sad and tragic incident, RIP.
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Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad Dec 31, 2024 10:42pm
Tip of the iceberg.
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Laila Jan 01, 2025 05:40am
@Busaif_Q8R But how is the Argentinean government responsible for a death of a foreign tourist? When people travel, the do so at their own risk. Applying for visa is often required to enter other countries. Hotels are a business who earn on guests. Neither can be blamed, really.
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