Liam Payne’s friend Rogelio “Roger” Nores has denied being a suspect in the former One Direction star’s death and insisted he did not abandon the singer the day he tragically fell from his hotel balcony in Argentina.
The Argentine businessman spoke as prosecutors said Liam did not intend to kill himself and revealed three people have been charged over his death. Argentina’s prosecutors said three people have been charged with “abandonment of a person followed by death” and supply and facilitation of narcotics in relation to the death of Liam, who died aged 31 at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires on October 16.
But after the news broke, his friend Mr Nores spoke out for the first time and denied claims he was being investigated in connection with Liam’s death. He said: “I never left Liam, I went to his hotel three times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened.”
In a statement shared with the Daily Mail, Nores added: “There were over 15 people in the hotel lobby chatting and joking with him when I left. I could never have imagined something like this would happen.” He also said he gave his statement to the prosecutor on October 17, but said he has not spoken to any police officers or prosecutors since.
Nores, 35, was friends with Liam and in his statement denied being the singer’s manager and called the former 1D star his “very dear friend”. He said he had emailed Liam and his team on August 23, alerting them to his concerns about the singer’s “wellbeing”.
He added: “I am truly heartbroken by this tragedy, I have missed my friend every day.” Nores is a businessman who made his fortune in the energy industry and, according to Forbes, founded his own investment firm at the age of 23.
In 2018, he appeared on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 – Energy list as CEO of StoneWay Capital. In 2022, his company was acquired by SCC Power. Nores and Liam are believed to have met at a house party in London, hosted by Edward Enninful, former editor-in-chief of British Vogue magazine, in 2020.
The pair became close friends and this year, Liam and his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, moved into a mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, that belonged to one of Nores’ friends. Reports say that Nores and his girlfriend had accompanied Liam and Kate to Niall Horan’s concert in Buenos Aires a few days before the singer’s tragic death.
According to Page Six, Nores was working hard to keep Liam clean fromdrugs
. In a note seen by the American publication, Nores sent an email to Liam Payne’s father and his management team in August to express hisconcerns, as the singer had only been clean for four months
He said: “Liam stayed at my friend’s ranch in Palm Beach and from the first day he arrived he was monitored and treated by professional doctors who specialise in addiction. He remained completely clean with no access to any hard drugs throughout his stay.
“The plan was for him to work on preparing for a music tour and stay healthy and busy with work. A plan he successfully followed throughout his stay in the States.” But he continued: “I am very concerned for his wellbeing whilst he is there and hope that they can bring in professional doctors to monitor his health regularly as soon as possible, as I did whilst I was in the States. I will remain completely sidelined and disconnected from now on and wish them all the best with Liam’s health and career.”
This comes as Argentine prosecutors investigating Liam’s death confirmed the arrests of three suspects who are now under formal investigation. They said the crimes were punishable by a prison sentence of up to 15 years if convicted. They also confirmed one of the suspects included a hotel worker.
In their third statement since Liam’s death, prosecutors revealed that only alcohol, cocaine and an antidepressant were found in the star’s system. The lengthy statement, which also appeared to confirm that Liam’s father, Geoff, was personally informed of the proceedings, began: “The National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No. 14, in charge of prosecutor Andrés Esteban Madrea, reports, after the lifting of the secrecy of the summary, that within the framework of the investigation into the death of British musician Liam James Payne, which occurred on October 16 when he fell from a balcony of a hotel in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo, illicit conduct was detected, as a result of which three people were charged with the crimes of abandonment of a person followed by death, supply and facilitation of narcotics.
“From the beginning of the investigation and in just a few days, exhaustive and thorough actions and proceedings were carried out to clarify the circumstances surrounding the artist’s death. In this regard, the Public Prosecutor’s Office received several dozen statements, including testimonies from hotel staff, family members and friends, and medical professionals.
“A detailed analysis of more than 800 hours of video from various security cameras in the hotel and others on the street was also carried out, with personnel from the Prosecutor’s Office and specialized analysts from the Special Investigations Superintendency and the Technological Support Division of the City Police, made available from the first moment by the Deputy Chief of the City Police, Jorge Guillermo Azzolina.”
