Argentine waiter Braian Paiz, wanted for playing a role in the death of British artist Liam Payne, is now behind bars after being on the run for days.
Paiz is one of five defendants in the case investigating the death of the former One Direction member, Argentine newspaper Clarín detailed. Authorities issued a warrant for his arrest on December 29, but he was only placed in custody on Friday after a raid on his home in Ingeniero Budge, located in the Greater Buenos Aires area.
Payne had visited the city to attend a wedding, watch former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan's concert, and work on re-obtaining a visa to live in the United States.
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Investigators revealed that Payne, who fell from the third floor of the CasaSur Hotel on October 16, 2024, met with Paiz several times after their initial encounter in the restaurant the latter worked at.
Paiz reportedly delivered cocaine to Payne's hotel room on October 14 in exchange for payment. He then stayed with Payne for nearly five hours, entering at about 3:25 p.m. and leaving around 8:15 p.m.
Nearly two hours later, Payne reportedly went to Paiz's residence in Buenos Aires to purchase more drugs and spent nearly an hour there before returning to the hotel in a taxi.
This timeline was reconstructed using text messages exchanged between the two and footage from the CasaSur security system.
Potential sentence for Braian Paiz
If found guilty, Paiz could face between 4 and 15 years in prison for drug trafficking.
The operation also sought David Ezequiel Pereyra, a CasaSur Hotel employee, who is still missing and has an arrest warrant in connection with the case.
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The investigation into Payne's fatal fall from Room 310's balcony led to additional charges against Rogelio "Roger" Nores, a friend and business associate of Payne, CasaSur manager Gilda Martín, and hotel supervisor Esteban Grassi. Payne's autopsy revealed that he had cocaine, benzodiazepines crack, and pink cocaine in his system.
The autopsy also revealed that Payne died from from "multiple traumas," which caused "internal and external hemorrhage... consistent with the 10-meter fall (over 33 feet) he suffered from the balcony of his room."
The three face involuntary manslaughter charges but were released pending trial and details of the case remain under a gag order, preventing further disclosures.
-- Originally published in Latin Times
