Pop star and former One Direction member Liam Payne tragically died at age 31 on October 16, 2024. The star succumbed after his fatal fall from a hotel balcony while staying at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. An autopsy confirmed that Payne died from multiple injuries causing “internal and external hemorrhaging” from his fall.
Meanwhile, although Liam Payne’s death was initially dismissed as an unfortunate accident, it later turned into an intense police investigation. Five individuals were arrested in connection to his death, among whom was a friend of Payne, the hotel manager, two employees, and a waiter. After months of legal proceedings, three have been acquitted as two remain under suspicion. So, let’s check out recent updates and what we know so far.
When was Liam Payne’s funeral and who attended?
Ever since Liam Payne‘s fatal fall in 2024, One Direction fans have continued to grieve his untimely death. Close friends of the pop star, as well as his girlfriend Kate Cassidy and ex-girlfriend Cheryl, attended his funeral held on November 20 in Amersham in Buckinghamshire, northwest of London. The late star’s funeral took place over a month after his body was finally flown back from South America.
It was a private ceremony, attended by Payne’s former bandmates alongside a range of celebrity pals, including Simon Cowell, James Corden, Marvin and Rochelle Humes, radio DJs Scott Mills and Jordan North. Meanwhile, Payne’s ex-girlfriend, who shares a son with the star, arrived with Girls Aloud stars Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts for support.
According to Metro UK, the beloved musician’s coffin arrived at the church via horse-drawn hearse, with floral tributes arranged spelling ‘son’ and ‘daddy.’ Meanwhile, locals gathered outside the church, paying their final respects as the coffin made its way down. As for fans, they stayed away for the most part, having already honored Payne in their own ways at memorials around the world.
Five people charged in connection to Liam Payne’s death
While the world was mourning Liam Payne’s demise, authorities in Argentina launched a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the star’s death. Thereafter, shortly after his tragic fall from the hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, what initially appeared to be an accident took a darker turn.
On December 30, local media reported that five people were charged with manslaughter, while two remained in custody. Soon, Infobae noted that one of those who were charged happened to be Payne’s friend, Rogelio “Roger” Nores. He was reportedly accused of negligent homicide and was prohibited from leaving the country.
Further, hotel manager Gilda Martin, alongside an employee, Esteban Grassi, was allegedly charged with manslaughter. Meanwhile, Braian Paiz and Ezequiel Pereyra were both accused of supplying Payne drugs and, therefore, denied bail. Later on, the lawyer of one of the men charged accused the judge’s decision as “illegitimate, unfounded and arbitrary.”
But, despite all odds, Judge Laura Bruniard eventually decided to move ahead with prosecutions of all five suspects and ordered Braian Paiz and Ezequiel Pereyra to be held in custody. The three suspects were formally charged with “abandonment of a person followed by death, supply, and facilitation of narcotics.”
If found guilty, their crimes were said to be punishable by a prison sentence of up to 15 years on conviction. Further, in December, two more hotel workers were charged in connection with the tragedy after cops seized computer hard drives and the hotel’s security camera footage and even interviewed hotel staff.
Three people are acquitted of manslaughter charges after arrest
Now, on a recent note, after months of investigation, three of the five arrested individuals have been acquitted. Reputed outlets like BBC and Rolling Stone noted that Liam Payne’s friend Rogelio “Roger” Nores, along with hotel manager Gilda Martin and employee Esteban Grassi, had their manslaughter charges dropped after a hearing in Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Court on Feb. 20.
If they were to have been found guilty, they would have each faced one to five years in prison. However, due to a lack of enough evidence against the hotel employees Martin and Grassi’s “thoughtless, reckless or merely negligent behavior,” the judge decided to clear them of all manslaughter charges. Meanwhile, as for Payne’s friend, the judge noted that he couldn’t have prevented the star’s death.
Further clarifying that Rogelio “Roger” Nores didn’t contribute to Liam Payne’s “obtaining and consuming alcohol” on the day he died, the judge cleared him of all charges. Meanwhile, Nores filed a federal lawsuit in Florida against Payne’s father, Geoff Payne (via Independent), stating how the singer’s father made “false and defamatory” statements about him, which led to his arrest. Nores thus sued Payne’s father for $10 million (£8.1 million).
Two people are still suspects linked to Liam Payne’s death
After three out of five people of interest in Liam Payne’s case were cleared of all charges, the spotlight went towards the remaining two. The Argentine waiter Braian Paiz, who was accused of selling drugs to Payne, remains behind bars. According to reports, he was a waiter at a restaurant that Payne, Kate Cassidy, and their friends visited on 2nd October.
Thereafter, Paiz was suspected of keeping contact via a private Instagram account, who later admitted to doing drugs with Payne in a hotel room during his interview with the Argentine news (via The Tab). But the waiter openly denied accepting any money for the drugs. He claimed to have smoked marijuana with the singer while Payne took cocaine.
We took drugs together, but I never took drugs to him or accepted any money. I have messages where he’s offering me money because he was apparently used to offering money for everything but I never accepted anything.
As for the second remaining suspect, the 21-year-old Ezequiel Pereyra, who worked at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel where the musician died, has been accused of supplying the star with drugs. According to reports, these two men are being held under custody because a court document suggested that Payne was conscious when he died.
So, if the drugs did cause the former One Direction star to lose consciousness, leading to his fall from the balcony, then the men who sold him those drugs could be considered responsible for his death. Braian Paiz and Ezequiel Pereyra’s fates are yet to be determined, with investigators looking for new evidence surrounding their involvement in Payne’s demise.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
