Roger Nores claimed that Liam Payne had experienced earlier episodes of severe intoxication and near-fatal drug use. Those claims appeared in a legal filing Nores submitted in his own defense; the reporting does not independently verify the alleged medical events. They also do not establish what caused Payne’s later fall or death.
Where the “close to death” claim came from
On December 20, 2024, Rolling Stone reported that it had obtained a 91-page filing Nores submitted in response to an Argentine investigation. Nores faced a charge of abandonment followed by death. The account of Payne’s earlier substance use and medical episodes came from Nores’s filing, which was submitted to support his defense—not from an independent medical finding.
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Nores said he was Payne’s friend, not his doctor, lawyer, or representative. Rolling Stone quoted him writing, “I do not consider that I deserve the accusation that is being leveled at me,” and describing himself as “a friend who loved him very much” and had tried to help. Those statements express Nores’s position in the case; they do not establish the allegations as fact.
What Nores alleged about Payne’s earlier episodes
Rolling Stone’s account of the filing, also summarized by TMZ, attributes the following sequence to Nores:
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- Milan, September 2023: Nores alleged Payne suffered severe intoxication and spent three days in hospital.
- London, later in 2023: Nores said Payne was hospitalized twice and was resuscitated during one episode.
- Spain, March 2024: Nores alleged Payne entered a rehabilitation facility but left before completing treatment.
- April 2024: Nores said Payne relapsed and needed resuscitation after a near overdose. He also alleged that Payne’s substance use had worsened and included heroin use.
These are claims attributed to Nores in his written filing. The reporting describes material including screenshots of conversations, but does not independently establish the alleged hospitalizations, resuscitation, or drug use.
How the allegations relate to Payne’s death
Payne died at 31 on October 16, 2024, after falling from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires. Rolling Stone separately reported that prosecutors identified alcohol, cocaine, and a prescribed antidepressant in his system at the time of death. That death-related account is distinct from Nores’s claims about earlier episodes: the reviewed reports do not establish that those alleged episodes caused the fall or Payne’s death.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the reporting does—and does not—establish about the case
Nores’s filing was made in response to a charge alleging that he abandoned a person who could not care for himself or was not in his right mind. Because the allegations about Payne’s health appeared in Nores’s own defense, they should be understood as his account, not as a court finding or verified medical history.
Rolling Stone’s December 20, 2024 report said a judge had yet to decide whether defendants should face further prosecution or be dropped from the case. That report does not establish the case’s later outcome.
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