The investigation into Liam Payne’s death has resulted in five people being charged by Argentine authorities.

Two employees of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires – hotel manager Gilda Martin and receptionist Esteban Grassi – as well as the boyfriend of former One Direction singer Rogelio “Roger” Nores have been charged with manslaughter, according to Argentine prosecutors. The charge carries a prison sentence of one to five years.

Ezequiel Pereyra, a hotel worker, and Braian Paiz, a waiter at a local restaurant, were charged with supplying drugs to the British artist. The two were taken into custody, the press release said. If convicted, they face four to 15 years in prison.

Judge Laura Bruniard said the five people contributed to “creating a danger which led to Payne’s death”.

Forensic experts concluded it was likely that Payne attempted to climb from his room’s third-floor balcony on Oct. 16, became unconscious and fell, the release said.

The allegations against the five

Hotel employee Pereyra is accused of being paid to supply cocaine to Payne at 3:25 a.m. on October 15 and between 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. on October 16. Prosecutors also allege that Payne sent a car to Pereyra’s house to “pick him up.” more narcotics.”

Waiter Paiz, who Payne met at a restaurant in the Puerto Madero neighborhood, was allegedly paid to deliver cocaine to the star at 3:24 a.m. on Oct. 14 — and he stayed in Payne’s room until 8:15 a.m. obtained additional cocaine and delivered it to Payne at 10:03 a.m. Payne also took a taxi to Paiz’s house and then returned to the hotel.

Payne’s friend and traveling companion Nores is accused of manslaughter because he allegedly “failed to fulfill his duties of care, assistance and assistance” to the singer by “abandoning him to his fate, even though he knew that he would not be able to do so (due to) several illnesses was able to care for himself.” Previous addictions – to alcohol and cocaine.” Prosecutors claim Nores had “complete knowledge” of Payne’s “intoxication, vulnerability and “Helplessness”.

According to prosecutors, the hotel’s receptionist, Grassi, was also present in the lobby at the time. Instead of protecting Payne, they allege that Grassi “led a group of three people who dragged Payne to his room shortly before his death” instead of holding him in a safe place and waiting to receive medical attention. He was held and guarded in a non-hazardous area – such as a balcony – until he was given medical care, according to the public prosecutor’s office.

According to prosecutors, the hotel’s receptionist, Grassi, was also present in the lobby at the time. Instead of protecting Payne, they alleged, Grassi “led a group of three people who dragged Payne to his room shortly before his death” instead of keeping him in a safe place and waiting to receive medical attention.

The judge’s hypothesis about Payne’s death

According to the press release, Bruniard analyzed the evidence collected by prosecutors and developed a hypothesis about the incident.

Bruniard wrote in the ruling that testimony collected by prosecutors showed Payne had a history of addiction. His autopsy revealed that his “death was caused by multiple trauma and internal and external bleeding” and showed large amounts of cocaine and alcohol in his system.

“On October 16, shortly before 5 p.m., Payne was unable to care for himself,” the judge noted, pointing to hotel security footage from the hotel lobby that showed him being carried to his room by three people became. He died minutes after being taken to his room when he fell from the balcony onto the restaurant’s terrace.

“The manner in which he was handled demonstrates a state of vulnerability,” the judge said, and although the hotel staff “did not act maliciously,” “taking Payne to his room in that state posed a legally disapproved risk.” bring to”. his life.”

In the judgment, Bruniard also claimed in her hypothesis that Payne did not faint when he fell, but that in his intoxicated state he tried to leave the room via the balcony and fell.

“I maintain that (Payne) attempted to leave the balcony of the location where he was left because the forensic experts determined that he did not lose his balance,” Bruniard wrote, citing various investigative reports. “That’s how the fall happened.”

The judge wrote in the ruling that charges were brought against Nores, who assisted Payne during his stay, because he was seen leaving the hotel 50 minutes before Payne’s death when “the singer’s state of vulnerability was evident.” The judge said Nores should have consulted a doctor and not trusted hotel staff to care for Payne.

What the defendants said

Nores detailed Payne’s alleged substance abuse – including hospital stays, multiple trips to rehab and two resuscitation procedures in the past two years alone – in a previous filing as part of the investigation.

“I was a friend who loved him very much, who selflessly helped him where I could, who spent my own money to help him, and even then it wasn’t enough,” Nores wrote. “I don’t believe I deserve the allegations that are being made against me.”

He also said in a statement: “I never let Liam down, I went to his hotel three times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened. “When I left there were over 15 people in the hotel lobby and talked to him and joked. I never imagined something like this would happen.”

Paiz said in an interview with TMZ that while he used cocaine and partied with Payne, he didn’t sell him drugs.

“They say I was the dealer, I had drugs on me, I sold them,” he told the outlet. “And the truth is, no, no, I didn’t sell them.”