Liam Payne death investigation: Trial date pending for drug supply suspects

Two years after the death of former One Direction singer Liam Payne in Buenos Aires, the trial for those accused of supplying him with drugs remains without a confirmed date. Judicial sources indicate that forensic examinations of the mobile phones belonging to both the artist and the suspects are still ongoing.

Payne died on October 16, 2024, after falling from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur Hotel in the Palermo neighborhood. The investigation focuses on individuals who had contact with the singer in the hours preceding his death. Following a jurisdictional dispute between national and city courts, the case was assigned to Judge Karina Andrade of the Criminal, Contraventional, and Misdemeanor Court No. 15 of Buenos Aires.

The two primary defendants, Braian Nahuel Paiz, a waiter, and Ezequiel David Pereyra, a former hotel employee, are charged with supplying narcotics for money. This offense carries potential prison sentences of between four and 15 years. Both suspects were granted release from house arrest in March after the judge determined there were no procedural risks justifying their continued detention.