According to the investigating judge, One Direction singer Liam Payne was trying to escape the building while under the influence of drugs.
Liam Payne didn't “ lost balance » before falling from a hotel balcony: he was trying to escape while under the influence of drugs, according to the judge in charge of the investigation into his death. In a decision obtained Monday by WECB, Judge Laura Bruniard released new information about what led to the One Direction singer's death and updated charges against five people interviewed in the case.
Judge Bruniard brought charges of manslaughter against Roger Nores (Payne's friend), Gilda Martin (manager of the CasaSur Palermo hotel) and Esteban Grassi (reception manager) for their acts of ” recklessness and negligence » which led to Payne's death. The charges against Nores were significantly reduced, although he originally faced 5 to 15 years in prison. “ I do not believe that (Nores, Martin and Grassi) planned and intended Payne's death. They did not plan the outcome but created a legally disapproved risk », Wrote the judge.
If convicted, two others (Ezequiel Pereyra and Braian Paiz) face four to 15 years in prison for the alleged sale of cocaine to the singer, and were sentenced to preventive imprisonment.
These new charges were made after reviewing evidence showing that Payne had been “ train » to his hotel room on October 16 while he was in a “ vulnerable state “, the judge affirming that the fact of having brought him to his room with such a level of intoxication “ created a legally disapproved risk to his life “. Payne died of multiple trauma and internal bleeding after the fall, according to a post-autopsy report.
“ Payne's consciousness was altered and a balcony was in the room. The right thing to do was to leave him in a safe place, with company, until a doctor arrived “, wrote the judge in her judgment, adding that the two hotel employees ” did not act maliciously » but were “ reckless » in their actions.
Although the prosecutor previously claimed that the One Direction singer passed out on the hotel balcony and fell, the judge said that Payne, in an advanced state of intoxication, ” tried to leave his room via the balcony “.
