A second man accused of supplying drugs to Liam Payne before his death is surrendering to Argentine police
The second of the two accused of supplying drugs British singer Liam Paynewho fell to his death from a third-floor hotel room in Buenos Aires last year, has surrendered to authorities, Argentine police said Tuesday.
David Ezequiel Pereyra, 21, presented himself to police in Barracas, south of Buenos Aires, on Monday, a police source told AFP.
Pereyra was an employee at the Casa Sur hotel in the Argentine capital, where the former One Direction singer died last October.
last week, police arrested 24-year-old hotel waiter Brian Paiz — accused with Pereyra of supplying Payne with drugs. Paiz’s attorney confirmed to CBS News that he is in custody. Toxicology tests after Payne’s death revealed that he had “traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription anti-depressant” in his system.
A total of five people were charged in the death of a pop singer. Three of them – Payne’s representative in Argentina, the hotel manager and the front desk manager – were charged with manslaughter.
Prosecutors said last month that the hotel manager and the hotel front desk allowed Payne to be taken to his room, which had a balcony, instead of keeping him out of harm’s way and with company until medical help arrived.
Hotel workers called the police that day to report “an aggressive man who may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” a Buenos Aires police spokesman said in a statement to CBS News back on Oct. 16, the day of Payne’s death.
Payne has spoken publicly about his struggles with substance abuse and his struggles with achieving fame at an early age.
His death sparked a global outpouring of grief from family, former bandmates and fans, with thousands of mourners gathering around the world.
One of the world’s most successful live acts of the 2010s, One Direction went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016. Payne achieved some solo success before his career stalled.
