His friend Roger Nores has now said in a long court filing obtained by Page Six the performer was voluntarily in and out of rehab centres for nearly 12 months in an attempt to “overcome” his apparent battle with substance abuse.
He said in the papers: “I was a friend who loved him very much, who helped him selflessly in everything I could, who spent my own money to help him, and even then it was not enough.
“I do not consider that I deserve the accusation that is being levelled at me.”
Nores has been accused of abandoning Payne before his fatal fall and he detailed the late singer’s alleged addiction issues after a judge called for him to be questioned as part of the investigation.
The document in which he makes the claims is not a deposition, and Nores used it to defend himself against charges that could land him up to 15 years behind bars.
He said in the papers Payne’s alleged rehab stints were “not successful” and he claimed the performer had tried heroin.
