One of the individuals charged in connection with Liam Payne‘s death earlier this week has now been arrested by Argentinian authorities.
Braian Paiz, one of two men accused of supplying drugs to Payne prior to his death, was arrested by police on Friday (Jan. 3), according to a CBS News report. The former One Direction singer died Oct. 16 after falling from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires. A preliminary autopsy report attributed his death to multiple traumas and hemorrhages he suffered from the fall, while a toxicology report noted the presence of alcohol, cocaine and prescription antidepressants in his system. Prior to the accident, the head receptionist at the hotel made two emergency calls requesting medical services — the first of which reported that a guest was “trashing the entire room” and the second of which stated concerns that the guest “may be in danger.”
Paiz was one of five people charged in Payne’s death on Monday (Dec. 30), according to a public notice posted by Argentina‘s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office. The others charged included hotel manager Gilda Martin, receptionist Esteban Grassi and Payne’s friend Roger Nores, all of whom are facing manslaughter charges; and hotel employee Ezequiel Pereyra, who was charged with supplying drugs to the singer.
“Payne’s consciousness was altered and there was a balcony in the room,” said Judge Laura Bruniard, who is overseeing the case in Argentina. “The proper thing to do was to leave him in a safe place and with company until a doctor arrived. The people responsible at the hotel that day were the manager GAM and the head of reception ERG,” the judge continued, using the suspects’ initials. The judge went on to note that while these individuals likely did not intend for Payne to die, their actions or inactions posed substantial risks to his life.
If convicted, those charged with manslaughter in the case face sentences of one to five years in prison, while those charged with supplying Payne with drugs face anywhere from four to 15 years, according to the BBC.
Payne was laid to rest in November in the U.K. His funeral was attended by his former One Direction bandmates, his girlfriend Katie Cassidy and his ex-partner Cheryl Cole, with whom he had a son.
