Three charged in connection with death of One Direction star Liam Payne

Entertainment

Three people have been charged in connection with the death of One Direction star Liam Payne in Argentina, the public prosecutor’s office in the country has said.

The 31-year-old pop star died after he fell from a third-floor balcony at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires on 16 October.

The three were arrested and charged with “abandonment of a person followed by death, supply and facilitation of narcotics,” said a statement by the office of prosecutor Andres Esteban Madrea.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

23 Oct: Police raid hotel where singer found dead

The statement said “Liam 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 employee.

The prosecutor’s office said it had received several dozen testimonies, analysed more than 800 hours of video from security cameras and public roads, and conducted a “forensic extraction” of the contents of Payne’s phone.

It said the investigation revealed “at least four supplies of narcotics” had been discovered.

The results of toxicology tests revealed in the moments before his death Payne had alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his body, it added.

The statement said Payne “did not adopt a reflex posture to protect himself from the fall” so it can be inferred he may have fallen “in a state of semi or total unconsciousness”.

It said that would “rule out the possibility of a conscious or voluntary act” as “in the state he was in, he did not know what he was doing nor could he understand it”.

Argentine investigators found what appeared to be narcotics and alcohol strewn around broken objects and furniture in Payne‘s hotel room, leading the public prosecution to surmise he had suffered a substance abuse-induced breakdown around the time of his fall.

Read more:
Liam Payne: A life in the spotlight

He had the X Factor, but where was the support?

New song featuring Payne’s vocals has release postponed

It comes after new music featuring vocals by Liam Payne had its release date postponed.

US singer and songwriter Sam Pounds, who collaborated with Payne on Do No Wrong, previously said the track would be out on 1 November, but has since said its release had been postponed because “it’s not the time yet”.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Articles You May Like

North of England will benefit from closer ties to Saudi, says Starmer, as he visits Middle East
What the oil and gas industry wants from Trump and how his administration might deliver it
This is what the solar + storage industry wants from Trump
Netanyahu to take the stand for the first time in his corruption trial
Suspect arrested in connection with shooting of US healthcare boss