Liam Payne’s Death: Three Charged in Connection with Singer’s Death

Three people have been charged in connection with the death of Liam Payne, a former member of musical group One Direction who died after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires last, month, Argentine prosecutors revealed on Thursday.

The 31-year-old’s death shook the world, and raised questions regarding how he had fallen. A 911 call from a hotel employee the day Payne died warned that he had been acting aggressively and could have been under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Payne fell from his room’s balcony on the third floor of his hotel in the upscale neighborhood of Palermo, in the Argentine capital. His autopsy said he died from multiple injuries and external bleeding.

Prosecutor Andres Madrea charged the three suspects, whose identities were not revealed, with the crimes of ‘abandonment of a person followed by death”  and “supplying and facilitating the use of narcotics,” the prosecutor’s office said. Madrea also requested their arrest to judge Laura Bruniard, who ruled the three cannot leave the country.

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Investigators said hours after Payne’s death that he was by himself when he fell. However, the prosecutors’ office said Thursday that one of the people charged was often with the singer during his stay in Buenos Aires. The second is a hotel staffer who allegedly gave Payne cocaine during his stay between Oct. 13 and 16. And the third is a drug dealer.

The Charges in Payne’s case carry quite some resemblance to the U.S cases stemming from the death of ‘Friends’ star Mathew Perry a year ago. The actor’s personal assistant and a longtime friend are among those charged with helping supply him with ketamine in the final months of his life, leading up to his overdose on the anesthetic.

Among the pieces of evidence gathered by local authorities include Payne’s cell phone records, material for forensics and testimonies. However, they are yet to unlock the singer’s personal computer-which is damaged- and other devices that were seized.

A post-mortem examination on the singer determined his cause of death as ‘multiple trauma’ and ‘internal and external hemorrhage’ as a result of the fall from the hotel balcony.  As per the prosecutor’s office, medical reports also suggested Payne may have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness. In addition, local authorities have carried out nine raids at homes in Buenos Aires.