Argentina’s public prosecutor’s office said in a statement Thursday that three people have been charged with “abandonment and death, and aiding and abetting the supply of drugs” in connection with the death of former One Direction singer Liam Payne last month.
The three people charged in connection with Payne’s death include a person who accompanied him “every day during his stay in Buenos Aires.” Prosecutors said the man was charged with “disposing of a corpse and resulting in death” and could be sentenced to five to 15 years in prison.
According to prosecutors, the remaining two were each charged with “criminal drug supply.” Among them: a hotel employee who allegedly provided Payne with two doses of cocaine while he was staying at the hotel; This includes suppliers. Public prosecutor’s office.
According to Argentina’s state police, Payne died on October 16 after falling from a third-floor hotel room in Palermo, Buenos Aires province. He was 31 years old.
Mr Payne’s father, Geoff Payne, left Buenos Aires with his son’s body on Wednesday for the UK. He had been in the country for several weeks waiting for authorities to allow him to return to the UK with Payne’s body after the criminal investigation concluded.
An investigation into Payne’s death found that she was “completely unconscious or in a state of significant reduced consciousness or unconsciousness at the time of the fall,” and prosecutors said there was “any type of self-inflicted injury.” denied.
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“For the prosecution, this situation also rules out the possibility of a conscious or voluntary act on the part of the victim, because in the situation the victim was in, he did not know what he was doing. ,” the prosecutor’s office said.
Prosecutors said toxicology tests showed that “immediately before death and during at least the last 72 hours, Payne’s system contained only traces of a combination of alcohol, cocaine, and prescribed antidepressants.” . Said.
“All injuries sustained by Mr. Payne were consistent with a fall from a height, and any type of self-inflicted injury or physical interference by a third party has been ruled out,” the prosecutor’s office said.
Police raid hotel worker’s home after Liam Payne’s death
The news comes after two officers close to the investigation confirmed to ABC News that police raided the homes of a hotel employee and a friend of Payne’s.
Prosecutors said a total of nine searches were carried out, and police seized a mobile phone, a hard drive, three laptops and drugs, including marijuana.
Last week, people with direct knowledge of the investigation told ABC News that police had released surveillance camera footage that appeared to show multiple drug exchanges between Payne’s dealer and a hotel employee before her death. He said he had investigated it. Officials said at the time that police were investigating whether hotel employees provided drugs to Payne.
Officials previously told ABC News that a partial autopsy revealed that he had “pink cocaine” (usually a mixture of several drugs including methamphetamine, ketamine, and MDMA) in his system that day. It was also discovered that the drug contained multiple substances, including drugs used for drug use. – Same goes for cocaine, benzodiazepines, and crack. Officials said an improvised aluminum pipe for ingesting drugs was also found in the hotel room.
A preliminary autopsy report from Argentina’s public prosecutor’s office revealed on October 17 that Payne died of “multiple traumas” and “internal and external bleeding.”
Payne’s body reportedly had 25 wounds. The report said Payne’s head injuries were sufficient to cause death and that the cause of death was related to the height of the fall.
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