Liam Payne’s friend Rogelio “Roger” Nores issued a statement denying his connection to the former One Direction member’s fatal fall from a third-story balcony at CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires on Oct. 16.
“I never abandoned Liam. I went to his hotel three times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened,” Nores — an Argentinian businessman who befriended Payne in 2020 — told the Daily Mail on Thursday.
“There were over 15 people at the hotel lobby chatting and joking with him when I left.”
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10 Nores — who “could have never imagined something like this would happen” — pointed out that he gave his “statement to the prosecutor on Oct. 17 as a witness.”
He insisted he hasn’t “spoken to any police officer or prosecutor ever since.”
Nores, 35, went on to note that he “wasn’t Liam’s manager,” calling the late singer his “very dear friend” whom he’s “been missing … every day.”
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10 “I’m really heartbroken with this tragedy,” Nores added, urging the outlet to “refer to the email [he] sent to Liam and his team on Aug. 23,” which was to alert them of his “concern[s]” with Payne’s “well-being.”
An eyewitness told the Daily Mail Payne was on a “bender” before he fell from the balcony of his room and that Nores even apologized to hotel guests for the behavior, which was described by onlookers as “erratic.”
The National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday that Payne’s friend, who was identified as an Argentinian businessman pal, a hotel employee and an alleged drug dealer have been charged in connection to his death.
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10 The friend — who reportedly presented himself as Payne’s manager — was charged with abandonment of a person followed by death for allegedly failing to inform the musician’s family that he had relapsed on drugs.
When Payne plunged to his death — likely in a “state of semi or total unconsciousness” — police reportedly tried to get in touch with the friend via a cellphone number that hotel managers had provided, but he did not answer.
The friend later testified as a witness, which led a judge to decide that he had allegedly breached his duty of care with respect to Payne.
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10 If convicted, the friend faces a sentence of five to 15 years in prison.
Meanwhile, the hotel employee and the alleged drug dealer were charged with supplying Payne with narcotics.
However, sources familiar with Argentina’s judicial system explained to the Daily Mail that the three individuals have not been formally indicted; rather, they have been arrested and placed under official suspicion.
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