US businessman ‘very happy' after being cleared of manslaughter over Liam Payne's death
Rogelio 'Roger' Nores' legal representative says the US businessman is 'very happy' after manslaughter charges against him were dropped in connection with the death of his friend Liam Payne.
Former One Direction singer Payne died aged 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Argentina on October 16.
Five people were initially charged over his death. Alongside 35-year-old Nores, two hotel workers have also been cleared by appeal judges.
However, the two individuals accused of selling the Night Changes hitmaker cocaine before his fatal fall remain in prison and still face prosecution and a likely trial.
Nores' lawyer Rafael Cuneo Libarona had centred his argument to get his client off his manslaughter rap on a rebuttal of prosecution claims he was Payne's representative and had failed in his duty of care towards him.
Speaking after news of the appeal ruling emerged, he said: ''We are happy to have reversed the decision by 360 degrees.
'We have always maintained that Rogelio Nores was not responsible for Liam Payne's death. He was only his friend and had no duty or legal obligation to ensure his safety.'
The three appeal court judges announced their ruling in a written document published eight days after a hearing at Argentina's National Criminal and Correctional Court in Buenos Aires.
Cuneo Libarona, the brother of Argentina's Justice Minister Mariano Cuneo Libarona, had attempted to overturn lower court judge Laura Bruniard's December 27 decision to indict five men including Nores.
'My client is not a manager, he is not a nurse, he is not a psychologist, nor a psychiatrist, nor is he dedicated to the recovery of addicts. He is a simple friend in Argentina who helps him in his business affairs,' he told the court.
The other two men now in the clear are Esteban Grassi, the chief receptionist at CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires who made a 911 call moments before Payne died, and its head of security Gilda Martin.
If convincted, they would have all faced between one and five years in prison, although they had been told they could be eligible for suspended jail sentences. Nores was held in Argentina while the decision was made.
After the verdict, Nores told of his relief at having cleared his name in a statement via Daily Mail, saying: 'These last few months have been hard but now I am cleared of anything to do with Liam's death, I am delighted to be a free man and innocent of all charges.
'Liam was my friend and I am so sorry for what happened but as my legal team and I explained to the court very clearly, I had nothing to do with it and I am not in any way responsible.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Hutchinson prison inmate death under investigation
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (KSNW) — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is investigating a death at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility. Corrections officers found 34-year-old Tony Payne unresponsive in his prison cell Thursday evening. Workers began life-saving measures until EMS arrived. EMS took Payne to the hospital, where he died. The Kansas Department of Corrections said an independent autopsy will determine the cause of death. It is protocol for all inmate deaths to be investigated by the KDOC and the KBI. Sterling teen killed in Ellsworth County crash Payne was in prison for violating the Kansas Offender Registration Act. He had previously been convicted of several crimes in Sedgwick County, including aggravated assault, possession of drugs, and DUI. His earliest possible release date would have been next April. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. To watch our shows live on our website, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
American Military News
09-05-2025
- American Military News
Liam Payne died with a $32 million estate and no will. Now his ex will help manage it
Liam Payne died with an estate worth tens of millions of dollars and no will directing where that money should go. So while a British court makes its final decision, it has reportedly granted administrative responsibilities to the singer's ex-girlfriend, Cheryl Tweedy, and a music industry lawyer, Richard Bray. In the U.K., when a person dies without a will, the spouse and then next of kin have first claim on their estate, according to the Guardian, which reviewed the court documents. Tweedy and Payne, who never married, had a son together. Bear is now 8 years old. Tweedy and Bray will have limited authority over the estate and cannot distribute any money, the BBC reported after reviewing probate documents. They are tasked to 'preserve the deceased's estate until a general grant is made' by the court. Liam Payne arrives at the 'All of Those Voices' U.K. premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square on March 16, 2023, in London. (/TNS) Payne and Tweedy — who was known as Cheryl Cole, or simply Cheryl, when she was a judge on the U.K. version of 'The X Factor' and he was a contestant in 2008 and 2010 — started dating in 2016 and broke up in mid-2018, a little over a year after Bear was born. The One Direction singer fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires last October after ingesting various intoxicants. Payne had traveled to Argentina to see fellow One D member Niall Horan perform solo two weeks before, making the trip with girlfriend Kate Cassidy. Cassidy, who left the country several days before Payne died, has no role in management of his estate. Authorities found Payne's hotel room strewn with drug paraphernalia, and an autopsy showed 'pink cocaine,' a mix of designer drugs, in his bloodstream. The room had 'various destroyed objects and furniture,' including a smashed TV screen, police said. Police had been dispatched to the hotel prior to the 31-year-old's fall in response to an emergency call about an 'aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.' Arriving police heard a thud and found Payne's body in the hotel courtyard. An assessment of the scene would later indicate that Payne may have been semiconscious or unconscious when he fell. A police spokesperson said at the time that the 'That's What Makes You Beautiful' singer had 'thrown himself from the balcony of his room.' Payne died from multiple traumas and internal and external bleeding. Five people were charged in December in connection with his death, including two hotel employees and a friend of Payne's. But in February those three were cleared after a court concluded that their conduct did not result in the singer's death. The other two people allegedly involved in the singer's demise — another hotel employee and a waiter — remained in pretrial detention. They were charged in December with allegedly supplying Payne with narcotics before his death. A different ex-girlfriend, Maya Henry, wrote a book published in 2017 about a member of a popular boy band who threatens to throw himself off a balcony. In the book, the character's girlfriend stops him from killing himself. ___ © 2025 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Los Angeles Times
08-05-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Liam Payne died with a $32-million estate and no will. Now his ex will help manage it
Liam Payne died with an estate worth tens of millions of dollars and no will directing where that money should go. So while a British court makes its final decision, it has reportedly granted administrative responsibilities to the singer's ex-girlfriend, Cheryl Tweedy, and a music industry lawyer, Richard Bray. In the U.K., when a person dies without a will, the spouse and then next of kin have first claim on their estate, according to the Guardian, which reviewed the court documents. Tweedy and Payne, who never married, had a son together. Bear is now 8 years old. Tweedy and Bray will have limited authority over the estate and cannot distribute any money, the BBC reported after reviewing probate documents. They are tasked to 'preserve the deceased's estate until a general grant is made' by the court. Payne and Tweedy — who was known as Cheryl Cole, or simply Cheryl, when she was a judge on the U.K. version of 'The X Factor' and he was a contestant in 2008 and 2010 — started dating in 2016 and broke up in mid-2018, a little over a year after Bear was born. The One Direction singer fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires last October after ingesting various intoxicants. Payne had traveled to Argentina to see fellow One D member Niall Horan perform solo two weeks before, making the trip with girlfriend Kate Cassidy. Cassidy, who left the country several days before Payne died, has no role in management of his estate. Authorities found Payne's hotel room strewn with drug paraphernalia, and an autopsy showed 'pink cocaine,' a mix of designer drugs, in his bloodstream. The room had 'various destroyed objects and furniture,' including a smashed TV screen, police said. Police had been dispatched to the hotel prior to the 31-year-old's fall in response to an emergency call about an 'aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.' Arriving police heard a thud and found Payne's body in the hotel courtyard. An assessment of the scene would later indicate that Payne may have been semiconscious or unconscious when he fell. A police spokesperson said at the time that the 'That's What Makes You Beautiful' singer had 'thrown himself from the balcony of his room.' Payne died from multiple traumas and internal and external bleeding. Five people were charged in December in connection with his death, including two hotel employees and a friend of Payne's. But in February those three were cleared after a court concluded that their conduct did not result in the singer's death. The other two people allegedly involved in the singer's demise — another hotel employee and a waiter — remained in pretrial detention. They were charged in December with allegedly supplying Payne with narcotics before his death. A different ex-girlfriend, Maya Henry, wrote a book published in 2017 about a member of a popular boy band who threatens to throw himself off a balcony. In the book, the character's girlfriend stops him from killing himself. Staff writers Alexandra Del Rosario, August Brown and Jessica Gelt and former staff writer Amy Kaufman contributed to this report.
