Liam Payne’s friend ‘delighted to be a free man’ as manslaughter charges dropped in major development into singer’s death
Manslaughter charges have been dropped against Rogelio “Roger” Nores and two hotel workers in connection with former One Direction star Liam Payne’s death at a Buenos Aires hotel last October.
Appeal court judges cleared Nores, who was a close friend of Payne, along with hotel staff members Esteban Grassi and Gilda Martin of any involvement in the singer’s fatal fall from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel.
Two other men accused of supplying cocaine to Payne before his death will remain in prison awaiting trial.
The ruling comes after a hearing at Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Court in Buenos Aires.
Nores’ lawyer Rafael Cuneo Libarona celebrated the ruling, saying: “We are happy to have reversed the decision by 360 degrees.”
“We have always maintained that Rogelio Nores was not responsible for Liam Payne’s death. He was only his friend and had no duty or legal obligation to ensure his safety,” he added.
Speaking from Buenos Aires, Nores told MailOnline: “These last few months have been hard but now I am cleared of anything to do with Liam’s death, I am delighted to be a free man and innocent of all charges.”
The ruling stated there was no evidence of “any relationship or complicity” between Nores and those accused of supplying narcotics to Payne.
Esteban Grassi, the chief receptionist who made a 911 call moments before Payne died, and Gilda Martin, head of security at CasaSur Palermo Hotel, were both cleared of manslaughter charges.
The pair had been charged over their decision to move Payne from the hotel lobby to his third-floor room when he couldn’t stand due to intoxication.
The judges ruled that Martin and Grassi did not act in a “thoughtless, reckless, or merely negligent behaviour” and played no role in the singer’s death.
The ruling specifically stated that the case “does not affect the good name and honour” of Grassi and Martin.
Waiter Braian Nahuel Paiz, 24, and suspended hotel worker Ezequiel David Pereyra, 21, lost their attempts to overturn Judge Bruniard’s decision to charge them with supplying drugs to Payne.
The pair could face prison sentences of between four and 15 years if convicted.
Paiz has admitted to consuming drugs with Payne at the hotel but denies selling him any narcotics.
Prosecutors claim Pereyra sold cocaine to Payne on October 15 at 3:25am and again between 3:30pm and 4pm on October 16.
CCTV footage allegedly shows Payne asking Pereyra for “seven grams of the same drug he had handed him earlier.”
Judge Laura Bruniard had originally indicted Nores in December, accusing him of “failing in his duty of care, assistance and help” towards the singer.
She alleged Nores had “abandoned him to his fate, knowing he couldn’t fend for himself, aware he suffered multiple additions to alcohol and cocaine.”
The prosecution’s case had centred on claims that Nores was Payne’s manager, after he was described as such in an internal hotel email.
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Nores consistently denied this role, stating in earlier testimony: “I never abandoned Liam, I went to his hotel three times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened.”
Prosecutors can appeal the higher court decision on Nores and the two hotel workers, though they have not yet indicated if they will do so.
Local reports indicate several electronic devices have yet to be opened and analysed, including Nores’ iPhone and Liam Payne’s computer.
The ruling by judges Julio Lucini and Hernán López of Chamber V of the Criminal and Correctional Court concluded that Nores could not “be required to take precautions that would go beyond the contractual relationship” of the hotel with its guest.
Nores said he is now “going to be able to travel to the UK and say goodbye to my friend.”