3 people has been He has been charged with supplying drugs and subsequently abandoning a corpse in connection with the death of Liam Payne in Argentina.
Toxicology tests revealed that Payne had traces of alcohol, cocaine, prescription drugs and antidepressants in her system after her death. The prosecutor said in a statement: on Thursday.
The former One Direction star died on October 16 after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires.
Guests at the time said they heard slamming doors throughout the afternoon, followed by loud screams. Staff called emergency services to report a guest who was “overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol” and was “destroying” the room. The 31-year-old's body was discovered in the courtyard of Casa Sur in the late afternoon.
Police said Payne was pronounced dead at the scene with “very serious injuries” to the base of his skull. A forensic team later concluded that Payne's death was caused by “multiple trauma” and “internal and external bleeding” caused by the fall.
One of the three suspects reportedly visited Payne regularly during the two weeks he was in the city. They are charged with abandonment of a corpse, subsequent capital punishment (punishable from five to 15 years in prison), and aiding and abetting drugs.
The second person, a hotel employee, “must answer to two counts of proven supply of cocaine,” prosecutors said. A third person was also charged with supplying drugs on October 14.
Prosecutors said they had collected testimony from dozens of people and conducted nine searches of homes across Buenos Aires province, resulting in the seizure of several personal devices. More than 800 hours of video footage was also analyzed.
In a statement, prosecutors also ruled out the possibility of suicide, saying: “The lack of defense or self-preservation reflexes in the fall, combined with other relevant data from his drinking, suggest that Liam “We can conclude that Payne was either completely unconscious or at risk of suicide.” A condition in which consciousness is significantly reduced or lost during a fall. ”
“Physical intervention by a third party” was also ruled out as a possibility.
Born in Wolverhampton, England, Payne appeared on British reality show The X Factor as a teenager before joining One Direction. The group is one of the biggest boy bands of all time, selling more than 70 million records worldwide before going on an indefinite hiatus in 2016.
Payne has previously opened up about his own struggles with mental health, turning to alcohol and epilepsy as mood stabilizers to cope with the “erratic highs and lows” he was experiencing at the height of the band's fame. He said he had started using the drug.
Mr Payne's father, Geoff, traveled to Buenos Aires after his son's death to meet with fans and visit the British Cemetery where his son's remains lie. Earlier this week, Payne's body was repatriated to Britain.
