Liam Payne death charges against friend Roger Nores and two hotel workers dropped
20 February 2025, 15:32
Manslaughter charges over the death of One Direction star Liam Payne have been dropped against his friend Roger Nores and two hotel workers.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Payne tragically passed away aged 31 on October 16, 2024, after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.
Rogelio "Roger" Nores, hotel operator Gilda Martin, and head of reception Esteban Grassi had all been charged in connection with the star’s death at the Casa Sur Hotel last year.
Two other men, hotel employee Ezequiel Pereyra and waiter Braian Paiz, were also charged with supplying cocaine to the singer.
"Glad this is finally over,” Nores told Rolling Stone after charges were dropped.
“I'm happy I'm now going to be able to travel to the UK and say goodbye to my friend."
Court documents show Payne argued with two women in the hotel lobby before falling from his hotel balcony at around 5:10pm.
His cause of death was determined to be "polytrauma" - multiple injuries from the fall.
Traces of alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant were found in his body.
This latest ruling comes after Nores claimed Payne had been “sectioned” in the months before his death.
"Originally, they tried to have him sectioned for 90 days,” he told the MailOnline.
"That ended up getting cut down to 30 days. But Liam talked his way out after just three."
Following his release, Mr Nores said he set Payne up with a team of medical professionals in a bid to help fight his addiction struggles.
"He knew he needed help," Mr Nores said.
"He did four months sober. Liam then began to go to the gym every day. He was really looking after himself.
"And it wasn't easy. He required 24-hour attention. Anyone who's looked after an addict knows that it isn't straightforward.
"It was draining, but I wanted to do it - that's what friends are for. After four months, I truly believed he had turned a corner."
