Argentinian waiter Braian Paiz, wanted for his role in the death of British artist Liam Payne, is now behind bars after several days on the run.
Paiz is one of five defendants in the case investigating the death of the former One Direction member, Argentinian newspaper Clarín reported in detail. Authorities issued an arrest warrant for him on December 29, but he was only detained on Friday after a raid on his home in Ingeniero Budge, located in the Greater Buenos Aires area.
Payne visited the city to attend a wedding, see a concert by former One Direction band member Niall Horan and work to reapply for a visa to live in the United States.
Investigators revealed that Payne, who fell from the third floor of the CasaSur hotel on October 16, 2024, met Paiz several times after their first meeting at the restaurant where Paiz worked.
Paiz allegedly delivered the cocaine to Payne’s hotel room on October 14 in exchange for payment. He then stayed with Payne for nearly five hours, at about 3:25 p.m., and left at about 8:15 p.m.
Nearly two hours later, Payne allegedly went to Paiz’s residence in Buenos Aires to buy more drugs and spent nearly an hour there before returning to the hotel by taxi.
This timeline was reconstructed using text messages exchanged between the two and footage from the CasaSur security system.
Potential sentencing for Braian Paiz
If convicted, Paiz could face between four and 15 years in prison for drug trafficking.
The operation also searched for CasaSur hotel employee David Ezequiel Pereyra, who is still missing and has an arrest warrant related to the case.
The investigation into Payne’s fatal fall from the balcony of Room 310 led to additional charges against Rogelio “Roger” Nores, a friend and business associate of Payne, CasaSur director Gilda Martín, and supervisor Esteban Grassi Hotel. Payne’s autopsy found he had cocaine, benzodiazepines and pink cocaine in his system.
The autopsy also revealed that Payne died from “multiple traumatic injuries”, causing “internal and external bleeding… consistent with the 10 meter (more than 33 feet) fall he suffered from the balcony my room.”
All three faced charges of involuntary manslaughter but were released pending trial and details of the case remain under a gag order, preventing further disclosure.
– Originally published in Latin Times
Tags Liam Payne, Arrest