Liam Payne Death Probe Twist: Tragic Singer's Friend Roger Nores and Two Hotel Staff Dramatically Have Charges Dropped in Investigation Into One Direction Star's Drug-Crazed Balcony Plunge Death
The One Direction singer's friend was charged back in December.
Feb. 20 2025, Published 10:57 a.m. ET
Liam Payne's friend Roger Nores and two hotel staff members have dramatically had charges dropped in the investigation regarding the singer's tragic death.
RadarOnline.com can report the late One Direction member's pal and the two workers in Argentina were charged with manslaughter just after he plunged from a third-floor balcony.
Payne died back in October after plunging from a balcony.
On Wednesday, the charges against Nores and the two hotel employees were dismissed after a court ruled they couldn’t have done anything to prevent the singer from plunging to death at the CasaSur Palermo hotel in October 2024.
The ruling stated: "It is possible that, if he had stayed in his company at all times, [Payne] would not have obtained the drugs and alcohol in the quantities necessary for the state of intoxication he exhibited at the time of his death.
"But it cannot be ruled out that, even if he had taken those extreme precautions... that [Payne] would have managed to obtain the substances anyway, as is common among addicts, even when they are under the loving care of their family."
After the cases were dropped, Nores told Rolling Stone magazine: "Glad this is finally over. I'm happy I'm now going to be able to travel to the UK and say goodbye to my friend."
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the singer's friend, hotel security head Gilda Martin, and receptionist Esteban Grassi were three out of the five people charged with manslaughter back in December amid the investigation.
Payne and Nores spent time together in Buenos Aires, Argentina, before his death.
Nores was reportedly with Payne multiple times during his trip in Argentina, however, he insisted he did not "abandon" his friend just before the tragic incident.
Before he was hit with manslaughter charges, he stated: "I never abandoned Liam, I went to his hotel 3 times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened. There were over 15 people at the hotel lobby chatting and joking with him when I left. I could have never imagined something like this would happen.
"I've given my statement to the prosecutor on October 17 as a witness and I haven't spoken to any police officer or prosecutor ever since. I wasn't Liam's manager, he was just my very dear friend, and please refer to the email I sent to Liam and his team on August 23.
"I'm really heartbroken with this tragedy, and I've been missing my friend every day."
Just weeks before the charges were dropped, Nores filed a defamation suit against the One Direction singer's dad, Geoff Payne, after he was charged with manslaughter.
Nores claimed the late star's father made false and defamatory statements about him to prosecutors who were investigating.
Payne's father, Geoff, claimed his late son's friend provided him with drugs and had "full responsibility” for the singer's care before he plunged from the third-floor balcony.
Nores filed a lawsuit against Payne's dad back in January.
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In the lawsuit, Nores claimed Geoff made "misleading false and defamatory" statements that "contained material omissions, and many parts were not based on personal knowledge" to police.
According to Nores, he claimed Geoff's accusations led to his arrest.
