The CasaSur Palermo hotel employee who called 911 moments before Liam Payne fell to his death is now being charged, according to documents seen by Page Six on Tuesday.
Receptionist manager Esteban Reynaldo Grassi is being charged after the judge assigned to the case weighed Grassi’s involvement in the singer’s death.
The documents filed on Monday also name Gilda Agustina Martín, the operations manager at Hotel CasaSur Palermo in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The judge has called for the two parties to be notified of their charges, though it’s unclear what they’re being accused of.
“Since there is sufficient reason to suspect that they have participated in the investigated act, we ask that the following people give a statement,” the documents obtained by Rolling Stone on Tuesday read.
Per the documents, Martín and Grassi will have to face the court on Dec. 19.
Braian Nahuel Paiz and Uriel Alejandro Astengo are set to show up in court on Dec. 17 after being accused of giving drugs to Payne, who was known to struggle with addiction.
The singer’s friend, Rogelio “Roger” Nores, is also scheduled to be in court the next day over charges of abandonment of a person followed by death.
Per the Buenos Aires legal system, after being interrogated, a judge must determine whether those accused will be prosecuted, dropped from the case or if there is no evidence for either decision.
The former One Direction band member died on Oct. 16 after falling from the balcony of his third-story hotel room in CasaSur. He was 31.
Following his death, Grassi’s call to 911 was released to the public.
The manager could be heard telling the operator calmly, “We have a guest who is [allegedly] high and drunk; and when he is conscious, he is destroying his room and we need you to send someone, please. We need you to send someone urgently because I don’t know if his life is in danger.
“He is in a room that has a balcony and we are scared he might be endangering his life,” he added.
Grassi then asked if the police would come before noting that he only wanted the “SAME,” which is Argentina’s system for medical emergencies. However, the operator told him that police were already on the way.
Moments later, Payne’s body was found in the courtyard.
After much speculation, it was reported that the singer was potentially trying to climb out the balcony after allegedly being locked inside his room by employees. Surveillance clips showed the moment Payne was carried from the lobby by three male employees before they wrestled to get him back into his room.
A crossbody bag and New York Yankees hat were found next to Payne’s body at the time of his death, sustaining the theory that he was trying to run away. A bag containing drug paraphernalia was also found on the balcony of the room below Payne’s, suggesting that he was taking it with him.
However, an autopsy report revealed that he passed out along the way and fell, resulting in a cranial fracture and internal and external bleeding.
A toxicology report later determined that he potentially passed out due to the huge amount of drugs and alcohol he had consumed before his death. Cocaine, crack, a depressant and pink cocaine — a recreational drug that mixes methamphetamine, ketamine, MDMA and others — were found in his system.
On Nov. 7, the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office announced in a press release obtained by Page Six that Nores, Paiz and Astengo were being charged in connection to his death.
Nores, who had taken on a manager-like role in Payne’s life, was charged with abandonment for allegedly failing to inform the late singer’s family that he had suffered a relapse.
Police also tried to get in touch with the Argentine businessman — who had been with Payne hours before his death — via a cell number that hotel managers had provided but he did not pick up the phone.
Though he has maintained his innocence, he faces a sentence of five to 15 years in prison.
Meanwhile, Paiz, who worked at CasaSur and claimed to have become friends with Payne, is being accused of supplying the singer with drugs. He has also maintained his innocence, saying he only did drugs with Payne, but never brought him any.
Astengo has yet to comment on the charges made against him.
Payne was finally laid to rest on Nov. 20 after an intimate funeral in the UK, which was attended by his former One Direction bandmates: Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik.
If you or someone you care about is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
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