Overview

• Braian Nahuel Paiz and Ezequiel David Pereyra are charged with repeated, paid drug supply and remain in preventive custody ahead of an oral trial that carries a potential 4 to 15 year sentence.
• From prison, Pereyra claims hotel staff failed to call an ambulance when Payne collapsed in the lobby, alleging the death could have been avoided; his account has not been adjudicated.
• Prosecutors cite CCTV, phone chats extracted from seized devices, witness statements, and a Cabify driver to time alleged cocaine deliveries on October 14, 15, and shortly before the fall on October 16, 2024.
• An autopsy found fatal polytrauma from a third-floor fall, and toxicology reported cocaine, benzodiazepines, crack, ketamine, MDMA, and other substances consistent with deep intoxication.
• Judges have reopened review of the prior dismissal of friend Rogelio Nores, while the drug-supply case proceeds in the local Buenos Aires jurisdiction after earlier competency disputes.