Arrests Have Been Made in Connection With the Death of One Direction’s Liam Payne

Following the tragic passing of One Direction's Liam Payne, five suspects have been arrested and charged in connection to his death. On Oct. 16, 2024, the former singer fell from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, which resulted in an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.

Authorities searched Payne's hotel room and discovered that not only had it been destroyed, but there were drugs and drug paraphernalia strewn about. An examination of the hotel's security footage showed Payne sleeping in the hotel lobby with a bottle of whisky in his hand, per ABC 7 News. The CCTV footage also showed a drug deal allegedly between a dealer and a hotel employee. Could they be one of the suspects who were arrested? Here's what we know.

In November, a toxicology report revealed that Payne had traces of alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant in his body, reported the BBC. His official cause of death was "multiple trauma" and "internal and external hemorrhage" due to the fall from the balcony. According to medical reports, Payne may have been semi-conscious or completely unconscious, leading the prosecutor's office to rule that this was not a voluntary act.

In a statement released by the Argentinian prosecutor's office, Judge Laura Bruniard looked at the evidence presented to her and decided to proceed with formal charges against five individuals. A hotel employee by the name of Ezequiel Pereyra is accused of selling cocaine to Payne on October 15 and 16. Braian Paiz, a waiter at the hotel, allegedly sold Payne cocaine on Oct. 14.

Distractify previously reported on an unidentified man who was accused of "abandonment of a person." He has since been identified as Roger Nores and has officially been charged with manslaughter. A woman by the name of Gilda Martin was the hotel's manager but is now suspected of manslaughter after she allegedly failed to "stop Payne from being taken to his hotel room moments before his death." Per court papers, she should have known the balcony posed a "serious threat" to someone in Payne's state.

Esteban Grassi worked as a receptionist at the hotel and is now facing charges of manslaughter after she allegedly had three people bring an unconscious Payne to his room instead of "keeping him safe." Judge Bruniard has stated that she doesn't believe Nores, Martin, and Grassi "had planned or wanted the death of Payne," but their actions put his life at risk. If those three are found guilty, they face between one and five years in prison. Pereyra and Paiz could get between four and 15 years for supplying the drugs.

Nores is the only suspect who has said anything publicly regarding his alleged involvement in Payne's death. "I never abandoned Liam, I went to his hotel three times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened," he said in a statement in November. "I could never have imagined something like this would happen."