Three charged in former One Direction singer Liam Payne’s death in Argentina

Three people have been charged in connection with the death of former One Direction singer Liam Payne in Argentina, media reports said.

English singer and songwriter Payne died at the age of 31 on October 16 after falling from a hotel balcony at Buenos Aires, the capital city of the country.

The prosecutors said they charged someone close to Liam, a hotel employee and a suspected drug dealer.

Payne’s body had traces of alcohol, cocaine and antidepressant at the time of death.

Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office said one who was close to Liam has been accused of “abandonment of a person followed by death”, BBC News reported.

The hotel official has been accused of supplying cocaine and the third person- a drug dealer- is charged with supplying narcotics.

The prosecutors, who have ruled out suicide, said officials analysed 800 hours of video footage.

The prosecutors said in a statement quoted by The Guardian, “The lack of defence or self-preservation reflex in the fall, together with other relevant data from his consumption, allow us to conclude that Liam Payne was not fully conscious or was experiencing a state of noticeable decrease or loss of consciousness at the time of the fall.”

“Physical intervention by a third party,” they added.

On the day of Liam’s death, Buenos Aires Police had said its team members rushed to the hotel after receiving a 911 call about an “aggressive man who could be under the effects of drugs or alcohol”.

The hotel manager had said he heard a loud noise from the back of the inn.

Police, as they claimed, discovered Liam who had fallen from the balcony in his room.