Liam Payne manslaughter case update as prosecutor ‘evaluates’ appeal against dropped charges for three men
Argentinian prosecutors are considering appealing the decision to drop manslaughter charges against three men following Liam Payne’s fatal hotel balcony fall in Buenos Aires last October.
The former One Direction star died aged 31 after plunging from the CasaSur Palermo Hotel, where his exact cause of death “polytrauma” which meant “multiple traumatic injuries.”
Prosecutors confirmed they are “evaluating appeals” after the three men were cleared last week.
The three men who had charges dropped include Rogelio “Roger” Nores, a US businessman and close friend of Payne.
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The other two men include hotel staff members – Esteban Grassi, the chief receptionist who made a 911 call moments before Payne died, and Gilda Martin, the head of security at CasaSur Palermo Hotel.
Appeal court judges reversed an earlier lower court decision to charge them in late December.
A spokesman for the Argentinian public prosecutors said: “The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the plaintiffs will now evaluate the appeals.”
An appeal could also be launched privately by Buenos Aires law firm Marval O’Farrell Mairal, which is reportedly acting on behalf of Payne’s family.
The three men would have faced between one and five years in prison if convicted.
Meanwhile, two other men accused of selling cocaine to Payne before his fall will remain in prison and still face prosecution.
Waiter Braian Nahuel Paiz, 24, and 21-year-old suspended hotel worker Ezequiel David Pereyra lost their attempts to overturn charges against them.
The pair could face between four and 15 years in prison if convicted of drug offences.
Prosecutors revealed additional evidence against Paiz, who has admitted taking drugs with Payne but denied selling him any narcotics.
“A police report on the accused’s residence, a block of flats at 400 Aguero Street in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Balvanera, concludes that ‘all the inhabitants/families there earn their livings mainly from selling drugs’,” they stated.
Nores said last week he was “delighted” after the charges for Liam’s death were dropped.
He subsequently confirmed he would travel to the UK to “say goodbye” to his friend.
The judges ruled that Nores did not play a role in Payne “obtaining and consuming alcohol,” nor could have done anything to prevent his death.
The businessman has also vowed to continue his £8.1 million defamation lawsuit in the US against Payne’s grieving father Geoff.
Nores will only drop the case if he receives an apology for what he claims were “false” statements made to investigators following Payne’s death.
Geoff Payne allegedly told authorities that Nores was part of a “care group” for Liam who “could not be left alone”.