The continued investigation into Liam Payne’s death could result in more charges following a previous indictment of three individuals.
Court documents obtained by Rolling Stone on Tuesday, December 10 reveal that a judge is weighing charges against two employees at the CasaSur Palermo hotel — including the receptionist who called 911 and hotel manager.
“Since there is sufficient reason to suspect that they have participated in the investigated act, we ask that the following people give a statement,” the court docs read, noting that the two individuals will be notified of the accusation. Rolling Stone reported that the documents do not list what they will be charged with.
The publication also reported that the receptionist — who made two 911 calls the morning Payne died — is still working at the hotel. Rolling Stone also shared details from the 911 call, telling dispatchers that a guest had “too many drugs and alcohol” and was “trashing the entire room.”
There was also apparently a second 911 call made in which the receptionist stated that one guest’s life “may be in danger.”
“Are you sending the police as well, or not?” he asked in the second call, per Rolling Stone, asking the dispatcher to “just” send the SAME, which is Argentina’s emergency medical services.
Us Weekly previously confirmed that Payne died on October 16 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina. He was 31.
Buenos Aires emergency services chief Alberto Crescenti said at the time that Payne suffered “serious injuries” that first responders were unable to treat by the time they arrived on the scene at CasaSur Palermo Hotel.
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Payne’s preliminary autopsy report stated that he died from multiple injuries involving “internal and external hemorrhage” and suffered “multiple traumas” that contributed to his death.
ABC News later reported that a partial autopsy revealed Payne had “pink cocaine” — a recreational drug that typically mixes methamphetamine, ketamine and MDMA — as well as cocaine, benzodiazepine and crack in his system at the time of his death.
The prosecutor’s office announced on November 7 that three individuals were charged with abandonment leading to death and the supply and facilitation of narcotics in connection to Payne’s passing.
Prosecutor Andrés Esteban Madrea requested the arrests of the three people in a 180-page indictment submitted by Judge Laura Graciela Bruniard.
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“The first defendant, a companion of the artist during his stay in Buenos Aires, has been charged with abandonment leading to death — a crime under Article 106 of the Criminal Code, punishable by five to 15 years in prison — in conjunction with the supply and facilitation of narcotics (Article 5, Section E of the Narcotics Law No. 23.737),” the statement read.
The statement continued, “The second defendant, a hotel employee, is charged with providing Payne cocaine on two occasions while he stayed at the hotel, and the third defendant, also a narcotics supplier, is charged with two additional confirmed instances of cocaine supply on October 14. Both are charged with narcotics supply (Article 5, Section E of Law No. 23.737).”
The forensic team also ruled out “self-harm or third-party involvement” in connection with Payne’s death, noting that his “lack of defensive posture upon impact suggests [he] may have fallen in a semi- or fully unconscious state.”
In the wake of the indictment, Payne’s friend Rogelio “Roger” Nores denied being involved in the singer’s death.
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“I never abandoned Liam. I went to his hotel three times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened,” Nores told the Daily Mail in a November 7 statement. “There were over 15 people at the hotel lobby chatting and joking with him when I left. I could have never imagined something like this would happen.”
Nores added that he was “heartbroken” by the tragedy and has been “missing my friend every day.”
Braian Nahuel Paiz, a suspect whom Payne met at the restaurant where Paiz works as a waiter, also denied supplying drugs to Payne. Paiz told Argentina’s Telefe Noticias in a November 9 interview that Payne “was already under the effects of drugs” at the restaurant. The two swapped information and later met up at Payne’s hotel, with Paiz claiming, “We took drugs together, but I never took drugs to him or accepted any money.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
