The Argentine public prosecutor announced on Thursday that former One Direction member Liam Payne had consumed alcohol, cocaine and antidepressants before his death on October 16, noting that three people were accused of supplying him with drugs.
The public prosecutor explained in a statement that "the results of toxicological tests that were previously sent to Payne's family showed that large quantities of alcohol, cocaine and antidepressants were present in his body in the moments before his death and during at least the last 72 hours of his life."
Liam Payne died at the age of 31 from "multiple trauma" and "internal and external bleeding" after falling from the balcony of his room in a Buenos Aires hotel where he had been staying for a few days.
Jeff Payne, the late singer's father, accompanied his son's body during its transfer from the Argentine capital to England on Wednesday.
The Public Prosecution also confirmed the initial results of the autopsy, which indicated that the injuries on the victim's body were consistent with those resulting from a fall, noting that the hypothesis of self-mutilation or "physical intervention by third parties" was ruled out.
The autopsy showed that "there were no 'defensive' wounds on Payne's hands, and that all the wounds were vital and occurred simultaneously."
The autopsy report concluded, based on these wounds and the position of the body on the ground, that "Payne did not assume a reactive position to protect himself (during the fall) and that he may have fallen in a state of semi-consciousness or complete unconsciousness."
The Public Prosecution confirmed this hypothesis on Thursday, stating that "Payne was not fully conscious or was experiencing a state of significant loss of consciousness or loss of consciousness when he fell."
The Public Prosecution Service said that the investigation into the cause of death, through the examination of mobile phones, computers, security camera videos, the search of the hotel room and "the testimonies of several witnesses in order to reconstruct what happened in the victim's last hours and the course of events", led to the issuance of an indictment against three people on charges of selling drugs and failing to assist a vulnerable person.
The prosecution did not name the accused, but explained that the person who accompanied Liam Payne daily during his stay in Buenos Aires was charged with supplying drugs and "refusing to assist a person in danger of death", a crime punishable by imprisonment for a period of between 5 and 15 years.
A hotel employee was charged with "supplying cocaine twice to Liam Payne during his stay", while a third person faces "supplying drugs twice at different times on October 14".
In a video posted on his YouTube account in 2023, Payne admitted that he had entered a specialized center to quit alcohol addiction, saying, "I became someone I no longer know. And I'm sure you don't know either."
His death sparked a wave of grief among his fans around the world.
Payne became famous in 2010 thanks to the band "One Direction", which was formed through the talent show "The X Factor", before becoming one of the most profitable boy bands in the world.
In 2016, the band released its fifth and final album, "Made in the A.M.", and announced a hiatus in the same year, but did not officially describe it as a breakup.
Each member of the band then went on to pursue their own artistic careers, achieving varying degrees of success. Liam Payne released his debut album, LP1, in 2019. Last year, he announced that he was working on a second album, and released a new single in March 2024. He was the father of a seven-year-old son.
0 Comments