Three charged in connection with death of One Direction star Liam Payne

Three people have been charged in connection with the death of One Direction star Liam Payne in Argentina, the public prosecutor’s office in the country has said.

The 31-year-old pop star died after he fell from a third-floor balcony at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires on 16 October.

The three were arrested and one was charged with “abandonment of a person followed by death” and supplying drugs, according to a statement by the office of prosecutor Andres Esteban Madrea.

The other two were charged with supplying drugs.

The statement said “Liam Payne was not fully conscious or was experiencing a state of noticeable decrease or loss of consciousness at the time of the fall”.

It said the first of the accused “accompanied the artist on a daily basis” during his stay in the Argentinian capital, while the second was a hotel employee. The third person allegedly supplied drugs.

The prosecutor’s office said it had received several dozen testimonies, analysed more than 800 hours of video from security cameras and public roads, and conducted a “forensic extraction” of the contents of Payne’s phone.

It said the investigation revealed “at least four supplies of narcotics”.

According to the post-mortem examination Payne died from “multiple” injuries and internal and external bleeding.

Argentine investigators found what appeared to be narcotics and alcohol strewn around broken objects and furniture in Payne’s hotel room, leading the public prosecution to surmise he had suffered a substance abuse-induced breakdown around the time of his fall.

Prosecutors rule out ‘self-harm’

The results of toxicology tests revealed in the moments before his death Payne had alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his body, it added.

Prosecutors said there was nothing to indicate any third-party involvement in his death and they also ruled out “self-harm”, according to a forensic report.

The statement said Payne “did not adopt a reflex posture to protect himself from the fall” so it can be inferred he may have fallen “in a state of semi or total unconsciousness”.

It said that would “rule out the possibility of a conscious or voluntary act” as “in the state he was in, he did not know what he was doing nor could he understand it”.

The investigation continues, the statement said, with some of Payne’s devices still being analysed.

New song featuring Payne’s vocals has release postponed

It comes after new music featuring vocals by Liam Payne had its release date postponed.

US singer and songwriter Sam Pounds, who collaborated with Payne on Do No Wrong, previously said the track would be out on 1 November, but has since said its release had been postponed because “it’s not the time yet”.

Last month Payne’s girlfriend of two years, Kate Cassidy, revealed the couple had planned on getting married next year. The 25-year-old had been in Argentina with Payne until two days before his death.

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