Liam Payne’s friend Roger Nores has said that he is “delighted” to be a “free man” after charges against him were dropped. The US businessman, who had tried to help Liam get sober in the months before the tragedy, had been accused of negligent manslaughter following the One Direction singer’s death, though charges against him and two staff members from the hotel where Liam died have been dropped. It comes months after Liam sadly died at the age of 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on October 16.
Following the announcement that charges had been dropped, Roger asserted: “These last few months have been hard but now I am cleared of anything to do with Liam's death, I am delighted to be a free man and innocent of all charges. Liam was my friend, and I am so sorry for what happened, but as my legal team and I explained to the court very clearly, I had nothing to do with it, and I am not in any way responsible.”.
Roger and Liam’s friendship began in 2020 after the pair met while at a party in London. Due to the timings, the pair reportedly didn’t see much of each other between 2020 and 2022 due to Covid-19 as Roger was mainly in Florida, though the pair predominantly kept in touch by phone.
Due to the long-distance nature of their friendship, Roger was reportedly unaware of Liam’s demons for years. However, in May 2024, the multimillionaire said he received a call from Liam’s manager, informing him that he’d reportedly overdosed in the UK. Speaking to MailOnline, he alleged that Liam’s father, Geoff, tried to have him sectioned for 90 days, though the Strip That Down singer “talked his way out after just three”.
After leaving hospital, Liam then reportedly turned to Roger for support. “He knew he needed help. I was in LA working at the time. I said if he could get to Miami, I'd meet him there,” he said. That summer, Liam, alongside his girlfriend Kate Cassidy, moved to Florida where he was reportedly surrounded by a team of medical professionals.
According to Roger, Liam “did four months sober”. During this time, he was reportedly looking after himself by going to the gym each day - leading Roger to believe that he’d turned a corner. Then, Roger says, “everything went wrong”. In August 2024, Liam allegedly headed to the UK for a work commitment - something Roger was wary of him doing. The businessman reportedly sent the singer’s team an email in which he expressed his concern for Liam’s wellbeing while on the trip. Sadly Liam allegedly relapsed while in the UK, though Roger says that he appeared to go sober again when he returned to Florida in September.
The pair reunited in Argentina the following month and when Roger left Liam’s hotel lobby on October 16 - the day he died - at around 4pm. Tragically around an hour later Liam fell from a third floor balcony of the hotel. A post-mortem examination ruled his cause of death as “multiple trauma” and “internal and external haemorrhage”.
Following Liam’s tragic passing, a source claimed that Roger was “not welcome” at the singer’s funeral in November. “Liam's family want his funeral to go off without a hitch and right now, opinions are strained when it comes to Roger. It's true he and Liam had a bond but he's never been popular when it comes to Liam's wider circle. There is a difference in the narrative, Roger would say he stepped back from working with Liam - others would say he was pushed,” they told The Sun.
“Many people didn't even know Liam and Roger had reconnected until his fateful trip to Argentina last month. Due to the ongoing investigation in Argentina, he's not welcome at this week's service.”. With charges against him dropped, Roger has opened up on his heartbreaking plans to visit the UK and finally say his goodbyes to his late friend. He told Rolling Stone : “Glad this is finally over. I'm happy I'm now going to be able to travel to the UK and say goodbye to my friend.”.
