Liam Payne’s Friend Says He ‘Never Abandoned’ Him Before His Death

Photo: Joseph Okpak/WireImage

Authorities in Argentina have reportedly made arrests in connection with Liam Payne’s death. A friend of Payne’s has denied that he is among the people under investigation, and claimed in a new statement that he never “abandoned” the singer.

Arrests

November 7, 2024: Two people have been arrested over Liam Payne’s death, while a third has also been charged. A drug dealer and a hotel maintenance worker are accused of providing the former One Direction singer with the narcotics that were in his system when he fell from a third-floor hotel balcony in Argentina on October 16, per Buenos Aires’s La Nación and Rolling Stone. A friend of Payne’s has also been charged with abandonment of a person, but he has not been detained. The friend, an Argentinian businessman, reportedly posed as Payne’s business manager but was not. He allegedly kept Payne’s recent drug issues from his family and did not show up after authorities called him on the day of Payne’s death. Police have raided eight locations related to the three accused, along with the room of a woman who was with Payne before his death.

An autopsy previously found that Payne had a number of drugs, including a mix of substances known as “pink cocaine,” in his system when he died. Drugs and drug paraphernalia were found in Payne’s Buenos Aires hotel room.

Payne’s friend issues statement

November 8, 2024: Argentinian multimillionaire Rogelio “Roger” Nores has denied to Daily Mail that he is under investigation in connection to his friend Liam Payne’s death. “I never abandoned Liam, I went to his hotel 3 times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened,” Nores said in the statement, noting that he was not Payne’s business manager and only considered him a “very dear friend. According to Nores, he gave a statement on October 17 as a witness and has not spoken to a police officer or prosecutor since. Per previous reports, one of the three unnamed people being investigated is a friend of Payne’s who falsely posed as his business manager and didn’t show up when authorities called on the day of his death. Nores said that when he left the hotel, there were more than 15 people in the lobby “chatting and joking with” Payne. “I could have never imagined something like this would happen,” he said, later adding, “I’m really heart-broken with this tragedy, and I’ve been missing my friend every day.”