Liam Payne’s heartbroken family ‘desperate for justice’ after four hotel workers & star’s pal are charged over his death

LIAM Payne’s grieving family hope “justice can finally be done” after five people were charged yesterday over his death.

A judge in Argentina said two hotel staff sold the One Direction star, cocaine while a pal, a waiter and the manager showed neglect by leaving him alone and vulnerable.

Liam, 31, died in a 30ft balcony fall in Buenos Aires in October.

Judge Laura Bruniard ruled five people each played a part in the star's death — and added yesterday: “What happened was foreseeable.”

She put the blame on two hotel workers who sold him cocaine, two others who helped “drag” him to his room before leaving him alone and vulnerable, and pal Rogelio “Roger” Nores, who had walked away 50 minutes before — “abandoning him to his fate”.

All five were charged yesterday after Ms Bruniard said in a statement the tragedy was “forseeable”.

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Blasting staff at CasaSur hotel in Buenos Aires, she added: “They didn’t act maliciously with regards to the singer’s death, but they were reckless in facilitating his transfer to his room by taking him there.

“They created a legally unacceptable risk and Liam Payne’s death is the result.”

Last night, a friend of 31-year-old Liam’s family told The Sun: “It’s been a very difficult Christmas for them but they now just want justice for their son.

“Finally, after a horrific couple of months, there is a feeling like this could be possible.”

Businessman pal Nores, 35, had been with Liam in the hotel but CCTV is said to show him leaving in the early hours of October 16.

Prosecutors claim it shows Nores “failed in his duty of care, assistance and help” to Liam — “knowing he couldn’t fend for himself”.

The judge’s report, which also relied on WhatsApp messages and witness testimonies, said the hotel’s chief receptionist Esteban Grassi and head of security Gilda Martin were among three staff who “dragged” the singer up to his room at 4.54pm.

Ms Bruniard said that within minutes “Liam wanted to climb over the balcony . . . he fell into the abyss and died”.

She added: “The proper thing to do was to leave him in a safe place and with company until a doctor arrived.”

A toxicology report revealed traces of ­alcohol, cocaine and a prescription anti­depressant in Liam’s blood.

The cause of the singer’s death was listed as “multiple trauma” and “internal and external haemorrhage”.

Nores, a US citizen, was last night banned from leaving Argentina and had £40,000 in assets seized.

He previously said of Liam’s final day: “He was in good spirits.

“He was talking to ten or 15 Americans that were here for a wedding.

“He was talking to them and he was joking around.”

Nores, Grassi and Martin were charged with negligent homicide — Argentina’s equivalent of manslaughter.

Hotel worker Ezequiel Pereyra and waiter Braian Paiz were charged with supplying drugs.

Pereyra is accused of selling Liam cocaine on October 15 and 16, while Paiz is said to have handed him the drug twice on October 14.

Paiz previously admitted to taking drugs with Liam but insisted he was not a dealer.

His lawyer claimed Paiz was the victim of a “witch hunt” and called the judge’s ruling “absolutely arbitrary, illegitimate and totally inconsistent with the records of the case”.

All five defendants can appeal the charges, though such judgments are rarely overturned, and they will likely face trial next year.

Liam had been in the South American country with girlfriend Kate Cassidy, 25.

She returned to the US three days before Liam died.

It is claimed he then turned to drink and drugs and had been involved in a series of arguments.

In the days after the horror, Liam’s heartbroken father Geoff, 66, visited the hotel.

He saw flowers and tributes left by fans, and remained in the country until he was able to repatriate his son’s body last month.

The Sun previously told how Nores was not welcome at Liam’s funeral in Amersham, Bucks, last month.

A source said at the time: “It’s true he and Liam had a bond but he’s never been popular when it comes to Liam’s wider circle.

“There is a difference in the narrative, Roger [Nores] would say he stepped back from working with Liam — others would say he was pushed.

“Many people didn’t even know Liam and Roger had reconnected until his fateful trip to Argentina last month.”

As well as the upcoming trials in Argentina, Liam’s family face a series of tough decisions over a string of unfinished projects.

Teardrops, the lead single from his second album, was released in March and re-entered the charts following his death.

A source said: “There is more than an album’s worth of music ready to go that Liam was really proud of which now belongs to Universal Music.

“Label bosses are keen to do something with it as a tribute to his musical legacy but right now no meetings have taken place.

“Liam’s family know they will need to sit down and work out what they want to do with his label but despite online chatter no date has been set.

“To be honest, they have just been getting through the past few months one week at a time.

“This will happen in due course.”

The Sun told last week how Liam’s family are also due to meet with Netflix execs to talk about the airing of his final project, Building The Band.

Filmed in Manchester in the summer, the talent show aims to form “the next great music group” from 50 hopefuls.

Former X Factor star Liam was a mentor along with ex-Pussycat Dolls star Nicole Scherzinger, 46, and Kelly Rowland, 43, from Destiny’s Child.

Meanwhile, Liam’s will is currently in the process of being executed with seven-year-old Bear — the son he had with former girlfriend Cheryl Tweedy, 41 — believed to be the main beneficiary.

Since their split in July 2018, the youngster has lived with the Girls Aloud star in Buckinghamshire.

During Liam's time in One Direction — alongside Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan — the band sold 70million records.

Following the group’s shock split in August 2015, he went on to carve out a solo career.

Liam dedicated considerable time to helping children and young adults, including ones needing life-saving operations, with some suffering from cancer and one being the victim of a school shooting.

During his career, he also teamed up with the likes of Unicef and anti-poverty charity Trussell in his home town of Wolverhampton.

In a nod to his legacy, mourners at Liam’s funeral on November 20 were asked to donate towards building a new cancer centre at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital for children.