Argentine prosecutors have indicted three people in connection with the death of a former man. one direction singer Liam Payne said on Thursday.
Payne, 31, died Oct. 16. fell from the balcony Casa Sur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires.
A person who authorities said spent time with Payne every day while in Buenos Aires was charged with abandonment of a person causing death. This charge is said to carry a possible sentence of 5 to 15 years in prison. Argentina’s National Criminal Corrections and Prosecution Service made the announcement Thursday.
Natasha Pisarenko / AP
The other two men charged are accused of supplying drugs, including cocaine, to Payne and are each charged with supplying drugs. Officials did not say what the sentence would be for the charges.
One of the people charged with supplying drugs was a hotel employee, prosecutors said. The prosecution announced that it had notified the three indicted people of the charges and had banned them from leaving the country.
None of the suspects have been identified by name.
The release also states that Payne died in the fall and did not jump from the balcony. Officials have not previously confirmed what happened, but the prosecutor’s office said Payne “may have been completely unconscious or experiencing a state of marked decline or loss of consciousness” at the time of the crash.
The prosecution said, “This situation excludes the possibility of intentional or voluntary acts on the part of the victim.”
that Includes investigation Prosecutors said they conducted nine raids on homes in the area and dozens of interviews with hotel staff, Payne’s family and friends and experts in medicine, biochemistry and psychiatry. Investigators also reviewed more than 800 hours of video taken at hotels and public roads and conducted a forensic analysis of Payne’s cell phone to review his digital footprint in the period leading up to his death.
An autopsy was also conducted. Payne’s body was then returned to his father. Jeff PayneHe has been in Argentina since his next day. son’s death.
Toxicology tests conducted as part of the autopsy showed Payne “found only traces” of drug use in his system. Prosecutors said there were traces of alcohol, cocaine and prescription antidepressants. Medical experts discovered Payne suffered injuries from a fall.
All of the information investigators gathered was summarized in a 180-page report and presented to Judge Laura Bruniard, who is overseeing the criminal case. Bruniard approved charges against the three, but the investigation will continue as investigators continue to attempt to access Payne’s other personal devices, the prosecutor’s office said.
