The lawyer of Liam Payne’s friend Rogelio “Roger” Nores has said he is “very happy” after manslaughter charges against the businessman were dropped.
Nores and two workers from the hotel in Buenos Aires were charged in December, two months after the One Direction star fell to his death, aged 31
On Wednesday (18 February), appeal court judges reversed the decision to charge all three men.
Two other men accused of selling Payne cocaine before his death remain in prison and have been told they still face prosecution and will likely go to trial. They are waiter Braian Nahuel Paiz and suspended hotel worker Ezequiel David Pereya.
Both could face prison sentences of between four and 15 years if found guilty.
Following the news that the charges against Nores had been dropped, he told Rolling Stone: “Glad this is finally over. I’m happy I’m now going to be able to travel to the UK and say goodbye to my friend.”
His lawyer, Rafael Cueno Liberona, said he was “happy to have reversed the decision”.
“We have always maintained that Rogelio Nores was not responsible for Liam Payne’s death,” he said.
“He was his only friend and had no duty or legal obligation to ensure his safety.”
The two hotel workers who will also not face charges are Gilda Martin, the hotel’s head of security, and Esteban Grassi, the chief receptionist who made an emergency call shortly before Payne died.
Prosecutors have the option to appeal against the decision to overturn the charges, but have not yet indicated whether they plan on doing so.
Nores’s alleged role as Payne’s manager and representative, which he denied holding, was said to have been an important part of the decision to prosecute him.
In a previous statement, he said: “I never abandoned Liam, I went to his hotel three times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened.
“There were over 15 people at the hotel lobby chatting and joking with him when I left. I could never have imagined something like this would happen.”
“I wasn’t Liam’s manager,” he added. “He was just my very dear friend.”
Last month, Nores sued Payne’s father, Geoff Payne, for defamation for making alleged “false and defamatory” statements about him to authorities, which he said led to his arrest.
Payne’s father claimed in “sworn declarations” to police that Nores was part of a “care group” for his son because he “could not be left alone in the vulnerable position in which he was”.
However, Nores has alleged in a lawsuit valued at more than $10m (£8.1m) filed in Palm Beach, Florida that the One Direction star’s father made “misleading, false and defamatory” claims to police detectives.
In the filing, Nores claims he and the “Strip That Down” singer were “mutual dear friends” but that he never agreed to be a caretaker of Liam and did not have a legal duty towards him.
“Geoff needs to backtrack on his [sworn] statement... I wasn’t Liam’s nurse or caretaker,” Nores continued.
“Liam, who I miss every day, was my dear friend and an independent, brilliant, respectful free man who did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted.”
Nores told Rolling Stone that all proceeds from the lawsuit would be given to Payne’s son, Bear, whom he shared with Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Tweedy.
