Five Charged in Connection with Liam Payne’s Death
Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage Reading Time: 3 minutes
Five people have reportedly been charged in connection with former One Direction star Liam Payne’s death in Argentina earlier this year. That includes the manager of the hotel where Payne was staying at the time, as well as a friend of the singer.
Five Charged in Connection with Liam Payne’s Death
On October 16, Payne died at age 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. On Monday, Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office shared a press release announcing that five people had been charged in connection with Payne’s fall.
That includes the hotel’s manager and receptionist, as well as Payne’s friend — all of whom have been charged with manslaughter. According to the BBC, these individuals (who were identified in the statement only by their initials) are Gilda Martin, Esteban Grassi, and Roger Nores, respectively.
Nores is reportedly accused of “failing to fulfill his duties of care, assistance and help” to Payne after he allegedly “abandoned him” despite knowing about his “multiple addictions.” Martin’s charge is reportedly for failing to stop Payne from being taken to his hotel room shortly before he died. Grassi’s charge is for allegedly asking three people to “drag” Payne to his room when he could not stand on his own.
Additionally, a hotel employee named Ezequiel Pereyra and a waiter named Braian Paiz have been charged with supplying Payne drugs. Pereyra is suspected of selling Payne cocaine on October 15 and 16, while Paiz is suspected of selling him cocaine twice on October 14.
Payne’s autopsy determined that he died of “polytrauma and internal and external bleeding.” He was also found to have several substances in his system at the time of his death, including “pink cocaine” (a drug cocktail that includes methamphetamine, ketamine, and MDMA), as well as cocaine, crack, and benzodiazepine.
SEE ALSO: LIAM PAYNE’S POSTHUMOUS SINGLE DELAYED INDEFINITELY FOLLOWING BACKLASH
Those Charged Could Face Years in Prison
Judge Laura Bruniard has reportedly decided to proceed to trial, although the defendants’ lawyers can appeal that decision. If found guilty, the three individuals charged with manslaughter could face between one and five years in prison.
Those accused of supplying drugs to Payne could face even longer sentences, between four and 15 years. Judge Bruniard has ordered these two defendants to be remanded in custody, with 24 working hours to appear in court.
In November, it was reported that three people had been arrested in connection with Payne’s death. That includes Braian Paiz, who admitted that he took drugs with Payne during his time in Buenos Aires but denied selling drugs to the singer.
Surveillance footage from the day Payne died shows hotel workers carrying Payne in the lobby and bringing him back to his room after he was allegedly being disruptive. TMZ suggested that the singer might have fallen trying to escape the room from the balcony, which is something he had reportedly done in the past.
A hotel employee reportedly called 911 about Payne on the day of his death, telling the operator, “I don’t know whether his life may be in danger. He is in a room with a balcony, and, well, we’re a little afraid…”
