Five people were initially processed in connection with Liam Payne’s fatal fall in Buenos Aires: three on alleged culpable-homicide charges and two on alleged paid cocaine-supply charges. An appeals court later dismissed the three homicide cases but upheld proceedings against the two alleged suppliers. Prosecutors sought an oral trial for those two in June 2025; the national court referred the case to the Buenos Aires City judiciary, and the latest official update available here does not establish what happened next. None of these updates reports a conviction.
What happened to Liam Payne?
Payne, the 31-year-old British musician and former One Direction member, died on 16 October 2024 after falling from a balcony at the Casa Sur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires. Prosecutors said their investigation examined witness accounts, surveillance recordings, phone data, and medical and laboratory evidence. The National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No. 14 reported analyzing more than 800 hours of hotel and public-camera footage, along with dozens of witness statements, phone and device examinations, and completed autopsy and laboratory studies.
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Who were the five people initially processed?
The initial proceedings involved different allegations and did not amount to findings of guilt. The first-instance ruling ordered preventive detention for the two alleged suppliers, not the three people processed for alleged culpable homicide. The prosecutor’s office described the initial decisions and allegations.
| People initially processed | Allegation | Procedural position in the updates |
|---|---|---|
| Payne’s travelling representative | Alleged culpable homicide | The appellate chamber later dismissed the case against the representative. Prosecutors reported appealing that dismissal. |
| The hotel manager and head of reception | Alleged culpable homicide | The appellate chamber later dismissed both cases. Prosecutors reported appealing the dismissals. |
| Braian Nahuel Paiz, a waiter Payne had met in Puerto Madero | Alleged paid cocaine supply | The appellate chamber confirmed the proceedings and preventive detention. Prosecutors later sought an oral trial. |
| Ezequiel David Pereyra, a hotel employee | Alleged paid cocaine supply | The appellate chamber confirmed the proceedings and preventive detention. Prosecutors later sought an oral trial. |
The prosecutor’s office said the alleged supply involved paid cocaine deliveries during Payne’s stay. Its June 2025 update said prosecutors sought trial on two alleged deliveries for each of the two men. Those remain allegations, not convictions.
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- Platinum-selling Liam has sold more than 18 million singles in just two years as a solo artist since leaving One Direction
How did the case change?
February 2025: appellate court dismisses three homicide cases
On 19 February 2025, an appeals chamber dismissed the cases against the three people processed for alleged culpable homicide and confirmed the proceedings and preventive detention of the two alleged suppliers. The prosecutor’s account of the appellate ruling also said the chamber could not decide a separate alleged drug-supply accusation involving Payne’s travelling representative because the first-instance ruling had not addressed it.
March 2025: prosecutors report appealing
In March, prosecutors said they had appealed the dismissals and set out their arguments. That update records the prosecution’s position; it does not show that the dismissals were reversed.
June 2025: proposed oral trial referred to City judiciary
On 6 June 2025, prosecutors reported that the two alleged suppliers would face oral trial. The case had been assigned by lottery to a national oral criminal court, but that court declared itself incompetent on 20 May and referred the file to the Buenos Aires City judiciary because the drug-supply offense had been transferred to that jurisdiction. The prosecutor’s update describes the requested trial and referral. It does not identify a later court assignment, trial date, or outcome.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What did investigators say the evidence showed?
The prosecutor’s office described reviewing extensive surveillance, witness testimony, phone and other device data, and forensic medical and laboratory results. In its account of the appellate ruling, it summarized the autopsy as finding multiple trauma and internal and external hemorrhage, and listed alcohol, cocaine metabolites, and sertraline among substances found. That is the prosecutor’s summary of the record, not a substitute for the full judgment or a finding that any defendant caused Payne’s death.
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In seeking an oral trial for the two alleged suppliers, prosecutors said they relied on camera records, chat messages, and testimony. Those materials were presented as part of the prosecution’s case; the updates do not establish a trial verdict.
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