Three people have been arrested in connection with One Direction member Liam Payne‘s Oct. 16 death in Buenos Aires after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony. None have been identified by name.
According to authorities, one of the individuals spent time with Payne every day while he was in Argentina and was charged with abandonment of a person followed by death. The charge carries a potential sentence of five to 15 years in prison.
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The other two were charged with two acts each of supply narcotics (cocaine). One is an employee of the Casa Sur Palermo hotel, where Payne had been staying.
Per Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office, Payne died from the fall but did not jump from the balcony, as had been previously speculated. Prosecutors said Payne was probably “not fully conscious or was experiencing a state of noticeable decrease or loss of consciousness. For the prosecution, this situation would also rule out the possibility of a conscious or voluntary act on the part of the victim.”
Payne was found to have traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system. The investigation is ongoing.
Meanwhile, collaborator Sam Pounds postponed the planned release last week of Payne’s first posthumous song, “Do No Wrong,” saying, “it’s not time yet. We are all still mourning the passing of Liam and I want the family to mourn in peace and in prayer. We will all wait.”
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