Three people have been arrested and charged in connection with Liam Payne’s death.
On October 16, the beloved One Direction star died at the age of 31, leading to an outpouring of grief from fans around the world.
Payne, who found fame on The X Factor as a teenager in 2010, fell from a third-floor balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and died immediately.
Authorities have been investigating the circumstances surrounding Payne’s untimely death in recent weeks, with his body having arrived home as funeral arrangements get underway.
Now, nearly one month on from the tragic loss, two hotel workers are among the three detained, with a friend of Payne’s also having their home raided before being arrested.
This evening, Argentina’s public prosecutor released a statement to confirm the three had been formally charged with ‘abandonment of a person followed by death, supply, and facilitation of narcotics.’
They said the crimes were punishable by a prison sentence of up to 15 years on conviction.
The office of prosecutor Andres Esteban Madrea added that ‘Payne was not fully conscious or was experiencing a state of noticeable decrease or loss of consciousness at the time of the fall’.
It said one of the accused ‘accompanied the artist on a daily basis’ during his stay in the Argentinian capital, while another was a hotel worker. They have not been named.
Earlier today, David Muir revealed to ABC World News: ‘Police arrested two hotel workers accused of supplying the drugs.’
He added that cops wanted to speak with a former friend of the pop star, who was not present during the raid.
One hotel employee is accused of supplying Payne with cocaine twice while he stayed at the hotel, while another person is accused of supplying drugs to the singer twice during his stay on October 14.
Mr Madrea confirmed they are both charged with two acts each of supplying narcotics.
As per TMZ, who first broke the news of Payne’s death, raids were conducted on Tuesday night.
Officers have also completed a detailed analysis of more than 800 hours of video footage from security cameras of the CasaSur Palermo hotel and obtained several dozen testimonies from staff, family members, friends, and medical professionals.
They said ‘forensic extraction’ had been carried out on Payne’s mobile, which involved trawls of his calls, messages, and social media accounts.
Additionally, investigators were said to be looking into a Dove soapbox that was found in Payne’s hotel room.
It is being explored that hotel employees smuggled drugs to the Strip That Down hitmaker using this item.
Payne, whose cause of death was multiple injuries as well as internal and external bleeding from the fall, reportedly had traces of cocaine in his system when he died.
Argentinian outlets previously claimed that the 1D star’s early toxicology reports suggested that he had pink cocaine (which comprises several drugs), cocaine, benzodiazepine, and crack in his body.
However, it has now been confirmed that Payne had traces of alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant in his system when he died.
In recent years, Payne spoke openly about his addiction struggles and mental health problems, having risen to fame at a tender age and gained a millions-strong fanbase.
It’s said Payne bravely entered rehab just months ago, having also been candid about his agoraphobia at the height of his fame in the band.
Following his shock death, thousands of fans have started campaigning for better protections for artists’ mental health in the music industry.
One fan, named Day, set up a petition, which has already well exceeded 100,000 signatures, and told Metro that she ‘will not stop’ until Liam’s Law is implemented and record labels are held accountable for breaching their duty of care.
The latest update comes after Payne’s father, Geoff, left South America, having arrived two days after his son died, attending a fan memorial outside the hotel while he was there.
Argentinian press said last week of the repatriation: ‘All the documents are ready for the former One Direction singer to return to his homeland so a funeral can take place there next week.
‘When Geoff Payne reached Argentina on October 18, he was told the repatriation process could take between four and five days, but because of the circumstances surrounding his son’s death, things took longer than expected.’
A close friend of the Teardrops singer has told MailOnline of plans for Payne’s final goodbye, saying: ‘Liam will have a very big send-off, quite probably at a large cathedral somewhere close to his heart.
‘Liam was so loved by so many people, there will obviously be enormous demand and so the service will necessarily be a huge affair.’
Payne was born in Wolverhampton to parents Geoff and Karen and grew up with older sisters Nicola and Ruth.
He moved down south as an adult after finding fame.
Payne is survived by a seven-year-old son, Bear, whom he shares with Girls Aloud singer and ex-partner Cheryl. At the time of his death, Payne was dating Kate Cassidy, 25.
Meanwhile, his surviving bandmates, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, and Harry Styles, all expressed their sorrow in the days after Payne’s death.
Also in a joint statement shared to their dormant social media accounts (One Direction went on indefinite hiatus in 2015), the group wrote: ‘We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing.
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‘In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly.
‘The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever. ‘For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us.
‘We will miss him terribly.’
It is not known whether the other What Makes You Beautiful singers will attend Payne’s funeral.
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