Buenos Aires: According to the Argentine prosecutor’s office, three individuals have been charged in connection with the death of One Direction singer Liam Payne.
Argentinian authorities have been investigating Payne’s final days at the hotel and they reported that Payne had traces of alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant in his system at the time of his death.
They had reviewed over 800 hours of security footage from the hotel and surrounding public areas and gathered numerous testimonies from hotel staff, family members, friends, and medical professionals.
The individuals charged include someone close to Payne, a hotel staff member, and an alleged drug dealer, all of whom are accused of involvement in supplying Payne with the substances.
The person visiting Payne is additionally charged with “abandonment of a person followed by death.” Authorities have not released the names of those charged.
The singer’s body was released to his family on November 6th to be flown back to the UK.
Fall from balcony
Medical reports indicate that Payne may have fallen while in a state of semi or full unconsciousness, according to the prosecutor’s office. This finding rules out any conscious or intentional act on Payne’s part, concluding that he neither understood nor was aware of his actions at the time.
A post-mortem examination determined his cause of death as “multiple trauma” and “internal and external haemorrhage” as a result of the fall from the hotel balcony.
‘Breakdown’
Initial police investigations revealed that Payne was alone in his hotel room and appeared to be experiencing a “breakdown.” Following his death, authorities found various substances in the room, including packs of clonazepam (a central nervous system depressant), energy supplements, and other over-the-counter medications scattered among his belongings. Additionally, a whiskey bottle, a lighter, and his mobile phone were recovered from the internal courtyard where his body was found.
In recent years, Payne had been open about his struggle with alcoholism, and also announced before that he had maintained six months of sobriety after undergoing treatment.
Payne’s death has led to an outpouring of grief from fans and former bandmates. The Casa Sur hotel in Buenos Aires, where he passed away, has since become a memorial site, with fans leaving flowers, candles, and photos around a tree at the entrance to honour his memory.
Payne had travelled to Argentina two weeks earlier to attend a concert by his former One Direction bandmate, Niall Horan.
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