Liam Payne: five people charged for his death

Five people have been charged for the death of Liam Payne, who tragically died last October 16 at the age of 31 after falling from the balcony of his room on the third floor of the hotel in Buenos Aires where he was staying. Among those charged, they were accused of manslaughter and negligence, according to the Argentine prosecutor’s office: the hotel manager, Gilda Martin, and her receptionist, Esteban Grassi, as well as Payne’s friend, Roger Nores, are were charged with manslaughter and negligence. Furthermore, another hotel worker, Ezequiel Pereyra, and a waiter, Braian Paiz, were accused of supplying cocaine to the singer and were placed in pre-trial detention.

According to media reports, Judge Laura Bruniard who is handling the investigation into the death of Liam Payne has listed in court documents the charges against the five suspects, who are customarily referred to by their initials. To be precise, therefore, the dhotel employee EDP is suspected of selling cocaine to Liam Payne between October 15 and 16, while the BNP waiter is suspected of selling cocaine to the former One Direction man twice on October 14. Payne’s friend, RLN, is suspected of manslaughter for having “failed in his duties of care, assistance and aid” towards the singer after “abandoning him to his fortune knowing that he was incapable of looking after himself and knowing that Payne suffered from multiple addictions.” The manager of the GAM hotel is instead suspected of manslaughter for failing to prevent the singer from being taken to his hotel room moments before his death.

According to court documents, given Liam Payne’s state before his death, the room’s balcony posed a “serious threat” and the manager should have ensured the singer was kept in a safe place until medical help arrived. . The ERG head receptionist is also suspected of manslaughter for allegedly asking three people to “drag” Payne, who could not stand, into his room, instead of keeping him safe.

Despite the manslaughter charges, Judge Bruniard maintained that she did not believe Nores, Martin and Grassi “planned or intended Payne’s death” but that their actions created a “risk” to his life. If found guilty, the three could be sentenced to sentences of between one and five years in prison, while for the alleged sale of cocaine to the singer they risk four to 15 years in prison. Judge Bruniard ordered the pre-trial detention of the two accused of supplying the drugs.

Furthermore, in documents obtained by the US edition of “Rolling Stone”, in updating the charges against five people questioned in the case, the judge declared that the singer threw himself from the balcony of his hotel in an attempt to escape from the building while he was under the influence of drugs. He stressed: “I maintain that (Payne) tried to leave from the balcony of the place where he was left because the forensic experts noted that he did not lose his balance. That is how the fall occurred.”