{"id":4854,"date":"2026-07-19T14:39:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T14:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4854"},"modified":"2026-07-19T14:39:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T14:39:44","slug":"exclusive-liam-payne-pal-finally-off-the-hook-for-stars-tragic-death-but-prosecutors-still-investigating-2-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4854","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive | Liam Payne pal finally off the hook for star’s tragic death \u2014 but prosecutors still investigating 2 others"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

BUENOS AIRES \u2014 Liam Payne\u2019s high roller friend is finally off the hook for the One Direction star\u2019s tragic death in October 2024 after judges formally dismissed the last charge against him, The Post can reveal.<\/p>\n

Read more Saquon Barkley\u2019s home invaded with family inside in \u2018unsettling\u2019 scene<\/a><\/p>\n

But authorities are still investigating two other men more than 18 months after Payne\u2019s fatal plunge from a Buenos Aires hotel balcony.<\/p>\n

Argentine businessman Rogelio Luis \u201cRoger\u201d Nores, 38, has been completely cleared of any wrongdoing, according to court records.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors had alleged that Nores acted as a host and controlled the pop singer\u2019s expenses before he fell from a balcony and died after taking hard drugs at the luxury CasaSur Palermo hotel in the Argentinean capital.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no chance that Nores will be brought back into the case. The court was clear in its ruling that cleared him of any criminal wrongdoing,\u201d Nores\u2019 defense attorney Rafael C\u00faneo Libarona told The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoger never had the duty of caring for Payne, much less caring for his addictions. He was not Liam\u2019s guarantor. He was his friend, not his physician, nurse, or therapist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nores was indicted on a manslaughter charge in November 2024, and Payne\u2019s father, Geoff Payne, was a key witness against him.<\/p>\n

The manslaughter rap was dropped in February last year but Nores had remained accused of a drug supply charge since June 2025 until that was thrown out this past April,<\/p>\n

In a decision signed on June 9, three appeal court judges agreed with the prior ruling that found that Payne, 31, was an adult who was free to decide to use drugs and Nores was not responsible in any way.<\/p>\n

That ruling has not been appealed by prosecutors.<\/p>\n

Investigators had asked to forensically analyze Nores\u2019 devices and those of two others after a message was discovered on Liam\u2019s phone asking Nores for \u201csix grams,\u201d according to docs.<\/p>\n

However, Nores did not reply to the message and the judges at the Buenos Aires Criminal Court of Cassation refused the request, saying there was no evidence that he agreed to supply drugs to Payne. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Prosecutors had also wanted Kate Cassidy \u2013\u2013 Payne\u2019s American girlfriend, who had been with him in Argentina but left before his death \u2013\u2013 to be summoned as a witness to testify to Payne\u2019s condition at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The judges refused the request in their June ruling, saying that not enough cause had been shown to justify calling Cassidy in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Spanish goalkeeper doesn\u2019t \u2018want to go to prison\u2019 for refusing to shake Trump\u2019s hand if team wins World Cup<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, two defendants charged with selling cocaine to Payne in the lead up to his death continue to await trial. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Case\u00a0sources\u00a0told The Post that\u00a0there have been negotiations for a plea deal, which could mean that a full trial over Payne\u2019s death never takes place.<\/p>\n

Restaurant waiter Braian Nahuel Paiz, 26, and hotel worker Ezequiel David Pereyra, 22, served over one year in police precincts and in a federal prison until they were released in March.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The pair are accused of selling drugs to Payne but if the plea deal goes ahead that charge could be reduced to supply of drugs for free, which carries a maximum sentence of six months. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Given that they have no prior criminal convictions, the sentence would already be covered by time served.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would be inclined to accept the offer,\u201d Pereyra\u2019s defense attorney, Augusto Maria Cassiau, told The Post.<\/p>\n

Payne\u2019s former partner, Cheryl Cole, is a plaintiff in the case on behalf of their 9-year-old son Bear and could have last say over any plea deal agreed, The Post has been told.<\/p>\n

So far, her lawyers have not objected to the rulings in\u00a0Nores\u2019 favor\u00a0\u2013\u2013 including the recent decision to clear him of all charges \u2013\u2013\u00a0or in favor of any other defendant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They have stated their sole interest in the case is to safeguard Liam\u2019s \u201cintimacy, honor and memory,\u201d court documents show.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The Post asked Cole\u2019s lawyers for comment.<\/p>\n

In a ruling on July 3, the judge in the case, Karina Andrade, granted prosecutors permission to carry out more forensic analysis on ten cellphones and a flash drive owned by Paiz and Pereyra and seized in police raids.<\/p>\n

Investigators\u00a0will probe text messages, social media conversations and browsing histories in search of any evidence linked to the alleged drug sales.<\/p>\n

Two other CasaSur hotel employees \u2014 security head Gilda Martin and receptionist Esteban Grassi \u2014 previously had manslaughter charges against them dropped.<\/p>\n

Read more France\u2019s Kylian Mbappe all but clinches World Cup Golden Boot in third-place game<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Argentine businessman Rogelio Luis \u201cRoger\u201d Nores, 38, has been completely cleared of any wrongdoing, according to court records.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"yoast_head":"\nExclusive | Liam Payne pal finally off the hook for star's tragic death \u2014 but prosecutors still investigating 2 others - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4854\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Exclusive | Liam Payne pal finally off the hook for star's tragic death \u2014 but prosecutors still investigating 2 others - 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