Argentine prosecutors charge three in death of singer Liam Payne | Al Jazeera News

Toxicology tests show the One Direction star had cocaine, prescription drugs and alcohol in his system.

Argentine prosecutors say three people have been charged in connection with the death of One Direction singer Liam Payne.

Payne had traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system when he died, authorities said in a statement.

They have charged someone close to Payne, a hotel employee and a suspected drug dealer, it was announced Thursday.

All three are accused of playing a role in administering the drugs to Payne. The person who visited Payne is also charged with “abandonment of a person resulting in death,” authorities said. They do not name the defendants.

Falling from the balcony

Payne, who had one child, died aged 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony in Buenos Aires on October 16. He died as a result of multiple fall injuries. His body was found in the hotel courtyard.

Payne was a member of the popular boy band One Direction, which was formed in 2010 after its members Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik auditioned as solo acts for the television show The X-Factor.

The band was formed by the show’s judge Simon Cowell and achieved international fame. The group has been on hiatus since 2016 as the band members pursued solo careers.

‘Tear down’

Initial police investigations revealed that Payne was alone in his room and suffered a “breakdown”.

After his death, police found substances such as packets of clonazepam, a central nervous system depressant, energy supplements and other over-the-counter medications scattered among his belongings in his hotel room.

Authorities also recovered a whiskey bottle, a lighter and a cell phone from the courtyard where Payne’s body was found.

In recent years, Payne had admitted to struggling with alcoholism, saying in a YouTube video posted in July 2023 that he had been sober for six months after treatment.

Payne’s death caused great sadness among his fans and bandmates.

The Hotel Casa Sur in Buenos Aires, where he died, has become a place for Payne’s fans to pay their respects. They left flowers, candles and photos of the singer in a makeshift shrine around a tree at the hotel entrance.

Payne had traveled to Argentina two weeks before his death to see former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan in concert.