Argentine authorities on Thursday accused three people of crimes in connection with the death of Liam Payne, the former One Direction singer who fell from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires last month.
A toxicology report said that Payne, 31, had cocaine, alcohol and a prescription antidepressant in his system when he died on Oct. 16, according to a statement from the local prosecutor’s office. The statement suggested that his death was not a suicide because of the determination that Payne fell in a state of unconsciousness.
Here is what we know about the circumstances of Payne’s death and the ensuing autopsy and investigation.
A hotel employee is among those accused.
The local prosecutor’s office said it had accused three people of crimes after the authorities conducted nine raids and reviewed more than 800 hours of footage from security cameras. It did not name any of those who were accused.
One person was accused of abandonment of a person followed by death. The prosecutor’s office described the person as someone who was with Payne on a daily basis during his trip to Buenos Aires.
The authorities also accused two people of suppling narcotics, including an employee of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel who is accused of delivering cocaine to Payne on two occasions.
The three people have surrendered their passports and are prohibited from leaving the country, according to an official with direct knowledge of the case. They have not been arrested.
Shortly after Payne’s death, the prosecutor’s office announced that it had interviewed five people during its investigation: three hotel workers and two women who had been with Payne on the day of his death but had left the hotel before he fell.
Payne had cocaine and alcohol in his system.
A toxicology report from tests taken after an autopsy said that Payne had cocaine, alcohol and a prescription antidepressant in his system when he died, the prosecutor’s office announced. The authorities said he received at least four supplies of narcotics during his four-day stay at the hotel.
Forensic experts determined from the autopsy that he had died from falling from a balcony and that there were no signs of anyone else’s involvement. The prosecutor’s office said that the autopsy report indicated that Payne died of “multiple trauma” and “internal and external bleeding” in the skull, chest, abdomen and limbs.
A 911 call was made moments before his death.
The Buenos Aires police released a recording of a 911 call that was placed minutes before Payne’s death. A man who identified himself as the hotel desk manager said on the call that a guest who appeared to have excessively consumed drugs and alcohol was “breaking everything in the room.”
The manager requested urgent assistance because the room had a balcony and hotel employees were “afraid he could do something that puts his life at risk.”
A spokesman for the Buenos Aires police said that the guest was Payne.
The prosecutor’s office said investigators found broken objects and furniture in his hotel room, as well as what appeared to be narcotics and alcohol.
No defensive wounds were found on the body.
The prosecutor’s office said that no defensive injuries had been found on Payne’s body. Because of the position in which the body was discovered and the 25 injuries he sustained, officials presume that Payne was in a state of unconsciousness and did not try to protect himself from the fall.
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