In Argentina, hotel worker Braian Nahuel Paiz was taken into custody in relation to the passing of musician Liam Payne.
The 24-year-old waiter was accused last month of giving narcotics to the deceased One Direction member before his tragic accident.
According to People and TMZ, Paiz could spend four to fifteen years in prison after being arrested on Friday, January 3, at his residence outside of Buenos Aires, Argentina. When local authorities stormed Paiz’s home, he was under house arrest, according to TMZ.
According to a report published on Friday, January 3, Paiz and his attorney, Fernando Madeo Facente, are both adamant that the hotel worker is innocent.
Payne passed away on October 16, 2024, after falling from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires. He rose to popularity as one of the five members of the boy band One Direction. His age was thirty-one.
According to a preliminary autopsy, Payne died from “multiple traumas,” which included hemorrhages in his belly, cranium, and chest. According to the partial autopsy, he had several narcotics in his system when he died, including crack, cocaine, benzodiazepines, and traces of “pink cocaine,” which is a combination of methamphetamine, ketamine, and MDMA.
Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office prosecuted five individuals, including Paiz, on Monday, December 30 in relation to Payne’s passing.
Apart from Paiz, Ezequiel Pereyra, a CasaSur employee, was also accused of providing drugs to Payne prior to his demise.
Along with Esteban Grassi, a receptionist at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel, and Gilda Martin, the hotel’s head of security, Payne’s friend Roger Nores is also charged with manslaughter.
In November 2024, Paiz denied selling drugs to the deceased musician in an interview with Argentina’s Telefe Noticias. In the weeks before his death, Paiz said he first encountered Payne when he ate at the Puerto Madero restaurant where he works.
Paiz claims that Payne “didn’t actually eat anything” at the restaurant because he “was already under the effects of drugs.”
“We exchanged details and met up later that evening,” he added. Everything was typical.
Paiz maintained, “I never gave Liam drugs,” and the two agreed to meet on October 2 at the “Hyatt in Palermo.” On October 13, they reconnected in Buenos Aires at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel.
He said, “We used drugs together, but I never gave him drugs or took any money.” He also said he still had the messages he and Payne exchanged to set up their second meeting.
On Wednesday, November 20, Payne was buried in Amersham, England. Among those there were Payne’s former bandmates from One Direction, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, and Niall Horan.
