Three people have been arrested in conjunction with the shocking death of singer Liam Payne.
Nearly one month after the One Direction alum died after falling from the third floor balcony of his Buenos Aires hotel room, authorities have charged a trio of individuals they believed played a role in this tragedy.
The suspects have not been named.
But we can confirm, via a press release sent by Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office, that they all have been charged with abandonment of a person followed by death; as well as supply and facilitation of narcotics.
According to this same release, “Payne was not fully conscious or was experiencing a state of noticeable decrease or loss of consciousness at the time of the fall.”
As previously reported, an initial autopsy revealed that Payne had pink cocaine and other drugs in his system at the time he passed away.
While an official toxicology report is still pending, Payne’s official cause of death was ruled as “polytraumism,” meaning multiple traumatic injuries internally and externally.
Late last month, we first heard that local police were looking into just how Payne obtained the drugs found both in his person and in his hotel room.
Now, in the wake of Payne plunging to his death, “illicit conduct was discovered from which three people were charged with the crimes,” the aforementioned release adds.
One of the suspects “is the person who accompanied the artist on a daily basis during his stay in the city of Buenos Aires.”
A second suspect is a hotel employee accused of supplying Payne with cocaine, and a third is an alleged “drug supplier.”
Payne had been in Buenos Aires to support former bandmate Niall Horan, who performed earlier in October at Movistar Arena.
He then chose to extend his trip girlfriend Kate Cassidy by his side, although she departed a few days before Payne’s passing.
The November 7 release from authorities in Argentina states that in the moments before his death and in the period of at least his last 72 hours, Payne had “polydrug use of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his body.”
It’s all so very sad.
“I don’t even know where to begin. My heart is shattered in ways I can’t put into words. I wish you could see the huge impact you’ve had on the world, even as it feels so dark right now,” Cassidy previously wrote, addressing Payne directly.
“You brought so much happiness and positivity to everyone — millions of fans, your family, friends and especially me. You are so incredibly loved…
“You are — because I can’t say were — my best friend, the love of my life and everyone you touched felt just as special as I did.
“Your energy was contagious, lighting up every room you walked into…
“None of this feels real, and I can’t wrap my head around this new reality of not having you here. I’m struggling to figure out how to live in a world without you by myself. Together, we got to be kids again, always finding joy in the smallest things…
“You’ll always be with me. I’ve gained a guardian angel.”