Liam Payne Death Update: Three People Arrested As Singer’s Body Flown To UK

A friend of Liam Payne, a Buenos Aires hotel employee, and an alleged drug dealer have been arrested in the former One Direction singer’s death.

The charges come after authorities conducted nine raids following the 31-year-old’s fatal fall from a third-floor balcony at the Casa Sur Hotel, located in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, on October 16.

“Illicit conduct was discovered from which three people were charged with the crimes of abandonment of a person followed by death, supply and facilitation of narcotics,” a news release translated from Spanish from the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No. 14 revealed Thursday.

The first person who is charged with the abandonment of a person followed by death accompanied Payne on a daily basis during his stay in Buenos Aires and helped facilitate the celebrity getting narcotics.

The second defendant is a hotel employee who must answer for two proven supplies of cocaine to Liam Payne during the period he was at the hotel. The third person, also a drug supplier, is accused of two other clearly proven supplies at two different times on October 14. Both were charged with the crime of supplying narcotics, two acts each.

Prosecutors said investigators reviewed over 800 hours of video footage from security cameras in the hotel and others on public roads for this case.

They also analyzed Payne’s cell phone data, including his calls, messages, chats on messaging apps, and social media accounts.

Argentine authorities also noted that they authorized the delivery of Payne’s body to his father, Geoff Payne, last weekend.

Payne’s body was flown back to the United Kingdom on Wednesday, the public prosecutor in charge of his case has confirmed to the BBC.

Liam Payne’s Toxicology Tests Results

Thursday’s news release states in at least his final 72 hours alive, Payne had traces of polydrug use of alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant in his system.

The completed toxicology details came from tests of Payne’s urine and blood.

A preliminary autopsy released by the prosecutor’s office on October 17 suggested Payne had pink cocaine in his system at the time of his death. Despite its name, pink cocaine rarely includes cocaine. Typically, ingredients include a mixture of ketamine, MDMA, starch, and caffeine.

Newsweek has contacted the Prosecutor’s Office No. 14 for clarification.

Liam Payne’s Fatal Fall

In a 911 call moments before Payne’s death, one of the hotel’s senior staff reported that a man was behaving aggressively and may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The singer died from “multiple trauma” and “internal and external hemorrhage” sustained from the fall, according to the preliminary autopsy report released by the Prosecutor’s Office No. 14 on October 17.

Thursday’s news release added that Payne’s injuries aligned with those caused by a fall from that height, ruling out the possibility of a fall due to self-harm or a physical intervention by another person.

Prosecutors noted that Payne did not adopt a position to protect himself from the fall, so he may have been in semi or total unconsciousness at the time of his death.

The investigation into Payne’s death is ongoing as the unlocking of Payne’s laptop, which is broken, and other devices seized in the investigation are still in progress.

Released photos of Payne’s destroyed hotel room at the time of his death showed a smashed laptop, TV, and what appeared to be drugs and paraphernalia.

Liam Payne’s Career Highlights

One Direction finished third on The X Factor in 2010 but quickly signed a record deal with Cowell‘s label Syco Music.

Their breakout song “What Makes You Beautiful,” as well as “Night Changes,” “Story of My Like,” and “Drag Me Down” all have over 1 billion Spotify streams. Despite the group going on hiatus in 2016, One Direction has over 42 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

After the band split, Payne pursued a solo career and saw success with songs like “Bedroom Floor,” “Get Low,” and “Strip That Down” – the latter of which has over 1 billion Spotify streams.

He most recently released his song “Teardrops,” which was co-written by NSYNC’s JC Chasez.

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