Former One Direction member Liam Payne tragically passed away on October 16 in Argentina. He fell from the third-floor balcony of the CasaSur Hotel in Buenos Aires at the age of 31. His grief-stricken father, Jeff Payne, brought his son’s remains back to the UK two weeks ago after extensive investigations and autopsies conducted by Argentine authorities. This week, more than a month after the tragedy, Liam will finally be laid to rest in his homeland. However, the singer’s family has refused to allow his close friend and confidant, Rogelio “Roger” Nores, to attend the funeral.
The 31-year-old businessman had been accompanying Liam in his native Argentina. The singer had planned to extend his US visa and had attended a concert by his former bandmate, Niall Horan, on October 4. On the day of Liam’s death, Roger visited him three times at the hotel and left just 40 minutes before the fatal fall.
The funeral will take place in Wolverhampton, where Liam’s family has made it clear that Roger is not welcome. “He will not be received well. The Payne family wants the funeral to go smoothly. It will be very tense if Rogelio shows up. He was never popular within Liam’s circle,” an insider revealed.
Argentine police have arrested three individuals in connection with the singer’s death. Two of them are hotel employees suspected of supplying drugs to the well-known guest. The third is a friend of Liam’s, who is accused of leaving him in a dangerous situation that led to his death, as well as being involved in the drug trafficking. These crimes carry up to 15 years in prison in Argentina. Although the authorities have not named the third individual, it is widely believed to be Roger, who had been closely accompanying Liam in the final days of his life.
“There are conflicting versions of events: Roger said he had stepped away from working with Liam, but others claim he hadn’t,” the insider said. “Many people didn’t even know that Liam and Roger had resumed their relationship before the fateful trip to Argentina last month. Due to the ongoing investigation in Argentina, Nores will not be able to attend the service this week.”
Rogelio “Roger” Nores has denied being charged in connection with Liam’s death but has respected the family’s wishes and will not be attending the funeral. “Roger wouldn’t want to do anything that would add to the pain the Payne family is currently feeling,” the insider added.
