In 2024, the world learned about the far-too-soon passing of Liam Payne. While staying in a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Liam fell to his death from a third-story balcony. Shortly after this One Direction star passed, an investigation, which included a toxicology report, transpired. And the findings that started flowing in were shocking.
Before his untimely death, Liam spent time filming alongside Nicole Scherzinger and Kelly Rowland. The footage taken will soon air on Netflix, featuring Liam. So, start preparing your hearts.
These stars signed on to judge and mentor aspiring musicians through an upcoming new series on Netflix titled Building the Band. For his part, Liam came on as a guest judge, which tracks, given his experience in the music industry. Following his death, however, production had a tough call to make. Do they release their new series, or do they pause their release date to allow time for everyone to process this loss?
Now, Netflix is ready to move forward. This July 9, Liam will be back on our screens. Thankfully, his loved ones support his post-mortem showings. According to a press release by Netflix, production sent them their footage, and they approved everything they saw featuring Liam.
During a panel after his passing, his costar and host of this new series, AJ McLean, said, “The very last thing Liam did was work on this amazing TV show for Netflix called Building the Band, which will be out this summer. And we’re dedicating the show to him.” Cue a slew of mixed emotions and bittersweet memories forming for so many of his loved ones and fans.
Before Netflix drops this series, let us provide you with an update about the pending case involving Liam’s death.
Who was charged in connection to Liam Payne’s death?
Liam was only 31 years old at the time of his passing. Using evidence gathered from expert reports, testimonies, and camera footage from his hotel in Argentina, we know that Liam had visited the hotel lobby earlier that day. While in the lobby, Liam was in an evident state of intoxication mere minutes before his fall on October 16.
According to CNN, the magistrate presiding over this case is Judge Laura Bruniard. In January, this judge revealed that “At 4:54 p.m. that day, Liam Payne was unconscious in the reception of Casa Sur and was dragged by three people” back to his hotel room. The manager of this hotel stood accused of “enabling, at least by omission,” the transfer of Liam to his room, which had a balcony. This balcony “was a source of risk for Payne,” his judge stressed.
His toxicology reports showed that alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant were in his system before his death. As his judge stated, five people have since faced charges in connection with his death. Several of these names remain unknown via all publicly available reports. Instead, their professional roles were their only identifiers supplied.
A person identifying as his “representative,” the hotel’s manager, and the head of reception are all charged with manslaughter. If convicted, they each faced up to five years in prison. Additionally, Braian Paiz, a Casa Sur hotel waiter, plus an ex-hotel worker, Ezequiel David Perey, also got arrested. The latter two men are now facing charges for allegedly supplying cocaine to Liam.
What’s happening with the Liam Payne death case now?
After these charges landed on the internet, Rolling Stone learned the identities of the representative and two hotel employees listed in the case involving Liam. In February of this year, they reported that Roger Nores, Gilda Martin, and Esteban Grassi attended a hearing in Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Court. Following this hearing, their charges were all dropped.
The two men charged with supplying Liam with drugs, however, remain in custody. In a lengthy statement shared by the Mirror, prosecutors stressed that his autopsy showed his death arose from polytrauma and internal and external hemorrhaging. Liam also had ethyl alcohol, cocaine, methylecgonine, benzoylecgonine, cocaethylene, and sertraline in his system. Consumption of these substances happened at least 72 hours before his death, they added.
Now, only Braian and Ezequiel remain. These two men are the only suspects who will end up on the stand for Liam’s death case. At this point, their trial dates remain unknown. But it will likely start soon, according to the folks at Mirror.
If convicted for aiding in his death, Braian and Ezequiel could face anywhere from four to 14 years behind bars. As for those dropped from this case, they all feel relieved. But all that Liam’s family now feels is an extreme need for peace, as the media has caused them “indescribable, lasting damage” through its coverage of his death, reports the BBC.
Also, “The family accepts the Court of Appeal’s decision to drop all charges” for three of these suspects, the BBC shared. As they await the court date for the remaining two suspects, his family continues to ask “for privacy to grieve” their loss.
TELL US – DO YOU PLAN ON WATCHING LIAM’S NEW SERIES ON NETFLIX?
This story originally appeared on Realitytea
