Liam Payne: 5 accused in connection with the death of the One Direction star – National
An Argentine judge upheld charges against five people in connection with the death Liam Payneformer member of a musical group One Directionand sentenced two to preventive prison because they supplied him with drugs.
A court official confirmed the judge’s decision on Monday and said one of the two people ordered to be placed in preventive detention — a form of pretrial detention — was an employee of the Buenos Aires hotel where Payne stayed until he died after fall from the balcony of his room in October.
The officer said the other person was a waiter Payne met at the restaurant. The officer, who asked to remain anonymous as a condition of discussing the verdict, said both men face drug supply charges and must appear before a judge.
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The judge also charged three other people with manslaughter, including a businessman who was with Payne in Argentina and two hotel managers. The official said that they have not been remanded in custody.
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In November, prosecutors filed a motion the first indictment against three peoplebut they did not reveal their names.
Payne fell from the balcony of his third-floor room at his hotel in the upmarket Palermo district of Argentina’s capital. An autopsy showed that he died from multiple injuries and external bleeding.
Prosecutors also said Payne’s toxicology tests showed his body had “traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescribed antidepressant” in the moments before his death.
Payne’s autopsy showed that his injuries were not caused by either self-harm or physical intervention by others. The document also said he had no reflexes to protect himself when he fell, suggesting he may have been unconscious.
Prosecutors in Argentina also ruled out the possibility that Payne died by suicide.
One Direction was among the most successful boy bands of recent times. He announced an indefinite hiatus in 2016 and Payne – like his former bandmates Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson – pursued solo careers.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
