Updated on Nov. 7 at 8.20 p.m. to add information.
Three people have been charged for crimes that led to former One Direction singer Liam Payne’s death in Buenos Aires in October.
One person who was traveling with Payne has been accused of “abandonment of a person leading to death,” a form of neglect charge in Argentina. A hotel worker and a third person have been accused of procuring the drugs Payne got before his death.
The individuals involved are facing preliminary charges. However, under Argentina’s judicial system, this does not necessarily mean they will go to trial.
According to prosecution sources, all three of them have appeared before the court in the last 48 hours, presented a defense attorney, and had their passports confiscated. They were also prohibited from leaving the country and are required to appear before the court every week.
“The arrest warrant has been put on hold while they testify and their legal situation is resolved in the upcoming days,” sources added.
On Friday, the #14 National Criminal and Correctional Prosecution Office headed by Andrés Esteban Madrea formally requested Judge Laura Graciela Bruniard to issue the arrest orders. The charges and arrest warrants were disclosed today.
Madrea also requested the judge to issue search warrants for nine different locations in the Buenos Aires area.
In their statement, the prosecution office said they were able to distinguish at least four different occasions upon which Payne obtained drugs from someone else. Both of the unnamed individuals are said to have provided the drugs two times each.
Contrary to anonymous reports saying that Payne had consumed “pink cocaine” before dying, results of toxicology tests revealed that in the moments before his death and within his last 72 hours, Payne only had traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his body.
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Forensic experts who performed the autopsy concluded that Payne’s death was caused by “multiple trauma” and “internal and external hemorrhage,” the result of the fall from the balcony of his room on the third floor of the hotel.
Three additional reports requested by prosecutor Madrea confirmed that all of Payne’s injuries were compatible with a fall. He ruled out self-harm and the involvement of third parties.
Prosecutors interrogated dozens of witnesses, including hotel staff, Payne’s relatives and friends, as well as expert doctors and psychiatrists. They also analyzed 800 hours of video footage from security cameras in the hotel and on the street, as well as the singer’s cell phone, including text messages and social media accounts. The analysis of Payne’s laptop computer and other personal devices is ongoing.
The former One Direction star died on October 16 at age 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony onto a patio at the CasaSur hotel on Costa Rica Street in Palermo. He was killed instantly. Police confirmed his death shortly after 6 p.m.