Three accused of death of former One Direction member

Three people have been charged amid the investigation into the death of British singer Liam Payne, former member of One Direction, who died on October 16 after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires.

“As part of the investigation into the death of British musician Liam James Payne, which occurred on October 16, when he fell from the balcony of a hotel in the Palermo neighborhood, in Buenos Aires, three people were accused of the crimes of abandonment of a person followed by death, supply and facilitation of narcotics”, announced the 14th National Prosecutor’s Office in Criminal and Correctional Matters.

One of the accused is a person who accompanied Payne during his stay in Buenos Aires, another is an employee of the hotel where the death occurred and the third was described as a “narcotics supplier”.

According to the prosecutor’s office, the indictment of these three people, whose arrest has already been ordered, occurred after an extensive investigation that included dozens of testimonies, the analysis of more than 800 hours of footage from hotel and street cameras and cell phone content. from Payne and several witnesses, as well as thanatological and laboratory studies.

The first of the accused was described in the advertisement as “the one who accompanied the artist daily” during his stay in Buenos Aires and was accused of the crimes of abandoning a person followed by death and supplying drugs.

The second is an employee at the Casa Sur hotel, where Payne was staying, accused of having supplied the musician with cocaine during his stay, while the third allegedly supplied the musician with drugs on two occasions.

Furthermore, the prosecution reported that toxicology test results revealed that “in the moments before his death and during at least his last 72 hours, Payne had only traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant use in his system.”

The reports presented to the prosecution concluded that “all of Payne’s injuries were compatible with those caused by a fall from a height and that any type of self-harm and/or physical intervention by third parties were ruled out.”

Furthermore, the initial findings were confirmed which indicated that the musician did not adopt a reflexive posture to protect himself during the fall, which is why the investigators consider that “he may have fallen into a state of semi or total unconsciousness” and ruled out the possibility of “ a conscious or voluntary act”, since “in the state he was in, he did not know what he was doing nor could he understand”.

“In addition to the strong evidence that has been obtained so far (visual, recording, medical, scientific, documentary, telephone, testimonial, etc.), the investigation must continue, because, among other steps, the unlocking of the victim’s personal netbook – which is broken – and other devices seized in the investigation is still ongoing”, adds the statement.

The body of the former One Direction member was taken from Ezeiza International Airport (Buenos Aires province) to London on a British Airways flight on Wednesday, shortly after being embalmed at the British Cemetery in Buenos Aires to preserve his remains. mortals.