Liam Payne's Friend Denies He's Under Investigation, Says He 'Never Abandoned' Singer Before His Death: Report

11/08/2024 04:29 PM

Three people, including one hotel worker, were charged in Payne's death after he fell from a third-floor balcony in Argentina

One day after three unnamed suspects were arrested and charged in connection with Liam Payne's death, one of the singer's close friends is maintaining his innocence.

Rogelio "Roger" Nores, who claims to have been with Payne just 40 minutes before he died, told the Daily Mail in a statement that he has had no contact with police since giving a witness statement the day after Payne, 31, fell from the third-floor balcony of his Buenos Aires hotel on Oct. 16.

On Nov. 7, a release shared by Argentina's National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office said the three suspects had been charged with abandonment of a person followed by death as well as supply and facilitation of narcotics — and that one of the suspects "is the person who accompanied the artist on a daily basis during his stay in the city of Buenos Aires."

"I never abandoned Liam," Nores told the Daily Mail. "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 have never imagined something like this would happen."

Related: 3 People Charged in Liam Payne's Death Including Hotel Worker: Prosecutor

Nores — who could not be reached for comment by PEOPLE — said he has not "spoken to any police officer or prosecutor" since giving his witness statement on Oct. 17.

"I wasn't Liam's manager, he was just my very dear friend," he said. "I'm really heartbroken with this tragedy, and I've been missing my friend every day."

Authorities said in the press release that they'd conducted nine raids this week in connection with Payne's death. In addition to the suspect description above, the release said a second suspect is a hotel employee accused of supplying the star with cocaine, and the third is an alleged "drug supplier."

The release said Payne "was not fully conscious or was experiencing a state of noticeable decrease or loss of consciousness at the time of the fall." After he died, "illicit conduct was discovered from which three people were charged with the crimes."

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Related: 3 People Charged in Liam Payne's Death Including Hotel Worker: Prosecutor

Authorities also said that in the moments before his death and in the period of at least his last 72 hours, the singer had traces of "polydrug use of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his body."

Payne's body has been officially released back to his family in the U.K. after it was held for further investigation in Buenos Aires. A preliminary autopsy report found that the singer died from multiple injuries and "internal and external" hemorrhages.

On Oct. 28, producer Sam Pounds announced Payne's first posthumous single "Do No Wrong." Just one day later, Pounds retracted the song's release, writing on X, "Today I'm deciding to hold 'Do No Wrong' and leave those liberties up to all family members. I want all proceeds go to a charity of their choosing (or however they desire)."

"Even though we all love the song it's not the time yet. We are all still morning the passing of Liam and I want the family to morn [sic] in peace and in prayer. We will all wait," he continued.

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