Liam Payne's family say 'justice' is 'possible' as 5 suspects face charges

Liam PayneThe singer's family is reportedly hoping the singer will get “justice” as five people have been charged in connection with the singer's death.

Five suspects have been linked to the unfortunate incident, including hotel manager Gilda Martin, Payne's good friend Roger Norres and waiter Brian Pace.

Roger Norris, who has been charged with manslaughter for allegedly abandoning Liam Payne, has since denied the charges against him.

After a painful first Christmas without their son, the Payne family are clinging to hope as five people face charges in connection with his tragic death as they believe justice is finally at hand.

A family friend said The sun“It's been a very difficult Christmas for them, but now they just want justice for their son. Finally, after a terrifying couple of months, it feels like it might be possible.”

It was announced Monday that Judge Laura Bruniard had moved forward with the trial of all suspects involved in Payne's death after prosecutors presented evidence.

Argentina's National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office identified the suspects by their initials: hotel manager Gilda Martin, receptionist Esteban Grassi and Payne's friend Rogelio 'Roger' Nores.

In addition, hotel employee Ezequiel Pereira and waiter Brian Pace have been charged with supplying cocaine.

According to Daily mailprosecutors have called Nores “criminally responsible” for Payne's death, accusing him of a breach of duty of care.

They allege that Norres “abandoned” Payne despite “knowing that he was incapable of taking care of himself, knowing that the defendant suffered from multiple prior addictions – to alcohol and cocaine – and having full knowledge of his state of intoxication, vulnerability and helplessness he found himself.”

Judge Bruniard declared that Nores was “liable as the perpetrator for manslaughter, given that he had acted as surety to the deceased's family”.

Evidence is said to show that Norris was at the hotel about 50 minutes before Payne's fatal fall, with the judge stressing that he “should have consulted a doctor” and “should have done so without relying on what the hotel staff might do”.

Prosecutors say hotel employees Martin and Grassi saw Payne intoxicated in the lobby but did not offer medical help.

The judge said Payne was “unable to take care of himself” on the day of his death and that the footage showed him being “dragged by three people” while he was unconscious.

She said that while she believed that Norris and the two hotel employees charged with murder did not intend to cause Payne's death, their actions and decisions contributed to endangering his life.

In a documentary made by TMZ at the inquest into Payne's death, Norris defended his actions, claiming that Payne was “in good spirits and perfectly balanced” on the day of his tragic death, rejecting claims that the singer was under the influence of alcohol or acting erratically before the fatal fall from a hotel balcony on October 16.

Norris said in a statement last month: “I never left Liam, I went to his hotel three times that day and left 40 minutes before it happened. When I left there were over 15 people in the hotel lobby chatting to him and joked.”

He added: “I could never have imagined that something like this could happen.”

Norris, who was not officially Payne's manager but described him as a dear friend, went on to explain that he testified as a witness to prosecutors the day after the incident, but has not spoken to law enforcement since.

“I wasn't Liam's manager. He was just a very dear friend of mine,” Norris said Daily mail.

Meanwhile, waiter Paiz faces charges of supplying cocaine to Payne in the early hours of October 15 and 16. Another defendant, Ezequiel Pereira, is accused of delivering cocaine to Payne on October 14.

Paiz, however, claims that the drugs he procured were not sold for money, and he insists that he was only trying to “hang out” with Payne.

Prosecutors say the cocaine was exchanged for money, presenting evidence such as footage from the hotel, witness statements and WhatsApp messages.

Those messages, especially between Pace and Payne, played a key role in Judge Bruniard's decision to charge Pace with drug trafficking.

However, Pais' defense lawyer, Fernando Madeo, has rejected the charges, calling them “illegitimate, baseless and arbitrary.”

Madeo claims Paiz, a devoted One Direction fan, used drugs with Payne but never sold them to him.

In an interview, the alleged drug dealer admitted to using drugs with Payne, but insisted he never took any money from him.

He said: “We used to do drugs together but I never brought him drugs and I never accepted money. I have news where he offers me money because apparently he was used to offering money for everything and I never accepted anything.”