Argentine court drops charges against 3 people tied to death of One Direction’s Liam Payne

SCMP | Feb. 20, 2025, 4:37 p.m. | Original

A makeshift memorial to former One Direction singer Liam Payne outside the hotel where he fell from a balcony to his death, in Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 17. On Thursday, an Argentine court dropped charges against three people tied to his death. Photo: AP

A court in Argentina dropped charges of criminal negligence against three of the five people indicted in connection with the death of Liam Payne, the former One Direction singer who fell from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires last October, according to a ruling obtained by Associated Press on Thursday.

The ruling drops charges against three key defendants: Rogelio Nores, an Argentine businessman with US citizenship who had accompanied Payne during his trip in Buenos Aires; Gilda Martin, the manager of the Casa Sur Palermo Hotel where Payne died on October 16 ; and Esteban Grassi, the hotel’s main receptionist.

The charge of “negligent homicide” carries a sentence of one to five years in prison in Argentina.

A toxicology report from tests taken after an autopsy revealed that Payne, 31, had alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system when he fell from the balcony.

Prosecutors argued that Nores had failed to comply with his duties of care by leaving Payne alone while inebriated. The court sided with defence lawyers who contended that Nores had no legal, moral or social duty to care for Payne. He also was outside the hotel at the time of his friend’s death.

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