Liam Payne bombshells – twists and turns of trial including Roger Nores suing singer’s dad

Five people had been charged in connection with Liam’s death in October, but last week it was reported that charges against three of the people, including Roger Nores, had been dropped

Over four months on from Liam Payne’s tragic death questions remain about his final hours and who, if anyone, is responsible for his death.

The former One Direction singer, 31, died on October 16 after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires. He is survived by his son Bear Payne, whose mother is Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Tweedy.

Five people had been charged in Argentina in connection with the death, three with manslaughter and two with supplying cocaine, but last week it was reported that charges against three of the people had been dropped.

Roger Nores speaks

Liam’s friend Roger Nores was one of the five charged in relation to the singer’s death prior to the charges being dropped. Nores is reportedly making plans to come to the UK to ‘pay his respects’ to the late One Direction member in the wake of the dismissal of manslaughter charges against him.

The court determined that Nores wasn’t involved in Liam “obtaining and consuming alcohol” and couldn’t have prevented his passing. Speaking through his high-profile attorney Rafael Cuneo Libarona, Nores welcomed the news about the overturned appeal: “‘We are happy to have reversed the decision by 360 degrees,” he proclaimed. “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.”

In conversation with Rolling Stone post-verdict, Nores shared relief at the ordeal coming to an end, saying, “I’m happy I’m now going to be able to travel to the UK and say goodbye to my friend.” Previously under investigation and then charged, Nores stressed in a formal comment: “I never abandoned Liam, I went to his hotel three 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.”

Nores and Payne reportedly became friends in 2020, and Nores was said to be oblivious to Liam’s private struggles. Yet, in May 2024, Nores got a call from Payne’s representative informing him that Liam had “dangerously overdosed” back in the UK, where he needed to be “resuscitated” by medical professionals.

Rogelio Nores has launched a lawsuit against Liam Payne’s dad ( 
Image:
Erica Canepa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Liam was sectioned just months before his death

Liam was “sectioned” after suffering an overdose in the months before his death in October last year, Nores has claimed. In an interview with the Daily Mail earlier this month, Liam’s close friend Roger Nores said Payne’s father, Geoff, had the singer sectioned following a serious drug overdose in May.

He told the paper: “Originally, they tried to have him sectioned for 90 days. That ended up getting cut down to 30 days. But Liam talked his way out after just three.” Following his release, Nores said he set Liam up with a team of medical professionals in a bid to help fight his addiction struggles.

“He knew he needed help,” Nores said. “He did four months sober. Liam then began to go to the gym every day. He was really looking after himself. And it wasn’t easy. He required 24-hour attention. Anyone who’s looked after an addict knows that it isn’t straightforward. It was draining, but I wanted to do it – that’s what friends are for. After four months, I truly believed he had turned a corner.”

Lawsuit against Liam’s dad Geoff Payne

Speaking earlier this week, in the wake of being cleared of any wrongdoing in connection to Liam’s death, Nores confirmed he doesn’t intend to drop his $10million lawsuit against his late friend’s father Geoff Payne.

Despite the dismissal of charges, the businessman insists on pursuing his defamation case against Geoff Payne unless he receives an apology. After his acquittal, Nores expressed his attempts to reach out to Liam’s dad without success.

He stated: “The lawsuit in the US is going to stay until the apology. I’m not after money at all, and any dollar would be donated to Bear, Liam’s son. But I do want him to apologise because he’s even though I understand that those are really human-like reactions, which I completely understand, I would never ever judge them but it gets to a point where it’s like, ‘Guys, like you may have gone too far.'”.

“So maybe it’s better to just settle everything, wrap up and you know what (say) ‘Like, maybe I should have said something and I’m sorry.'” In his statement, Nores also revealed the extent of Liam’s “addiction,” describing the support he provided to the singer as a relentless “24/7 job.”

Geoff in Argentina shortly after his son’s death ( 
Image:
Anadolu via Getty Images)
Last month, when he filed his lawsuit, Argentine Nores commented on the matter: “All the proceeds will be donated to my friend’s son. Geoff needs to backtrack on his [sworn] statement as he very well knows I wasn’t Liam’s nurse or caretaker. Liam, who I miss every day, was my dear friend and an independent, brilliant, respectful free man who did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted.”

The legal papers contested specific claims, particularly the insinuation that Liam was under Nores’ care and that of his girlfriend Kate Cassidy due to his addictions. Nores blasted Mr Payne for suggesting he played a role in the star’s death, saying he – as Liam’s father – “felt responsible.”

He elaborated: “It was really hard for Liam too. He was obviously trying to get better. And the judges reflected all this in the ruling, and they went like, ‘Look, this is really hard. It’s no one’s responsibility. People can try their best, which I would say a lot of people have around Liam for the past few years or especially a few months. But the reality is like you can only do so much right as a friend. And then when something like this happens, which is all a tragedy, you feel responsible. So that’s why I can totally understand why Geoff, Liam’s father, the minute this happened he came down to Argentina.”

He said further: “You can imagine he was so hurt. He had lost his son. So obviously he was hurt and when you hurt like you, there’s a part of you that feel responsible and when you feel responsible, you want to blame somebody. So that’s a really human reaction that he had. And to be honest, we all feel responsible. When you’ve been trying to help somebody that you love and you care for, you can’t help going ‘What if.'”

Appeal

Argentinian prosecutors are contemplating an appeal against the decision to dismiss manslaughter charges against three individuals following the tragic death of Liam.

Although three people were initially charged in connection with Liam’s death in Argentina, the charges were later dropped. Prosecutors have now revealed that they are “evaluating appeals” in their first public statement since it emerged last week that US entrepreneur Rogelio Nores, a close friend of Liam’s, and two hotel employees had been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Appeal court judges had overturned a decision at the end of December to charge the trio. However, they confirmed that two other men, accused of selling Liam cocaine before his fatal fall from the CasaSur Palermo Hotel, should remain in custody and still face prosecution.

Roger Nores with the late singer and his girlfriend Kate Cassidy
In reference to the potential appeal regarding the overturned manslaughter charges, a Buenos Aires law firm reportedly acting on behalf of Liam’s family, Marval O’Farrell Mairal, stated: “The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the plaintiffs will now evaluate the appeals that correspond to the part to the ruling that was not in accordance with the corresponding charges.”

Prosecutors have stated that appeal court judges cleared Nores of any criminal charges, reasoning that he did not take on “special obligations” that would associate his actions with the celebrity’s tragic end. Following an appeal hearing on February 11, the other two men informed of their exoneration last Wednesday include Esteban Grassi, the main receptionist at CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires who dialed 911 just moments before Liam’s demise, and the hotel’s head of security, Gilda Martin.

Grassi was one of three individuals captured alongside Martin in the last distressing image of the ex-One Direction member seen being assisted to his room from the lobby just prior to his fall from the balcony. Similar to Nores, they would have risked prison terms ranging from one to five years if found guilty as accused, though they were advised they might qualify for suspended sentences.

Meanwhile, the two individuals facing narcotics charges have been cautioned that conviction could result in four to fifteen years behind bars.