Three people charged in connection with the death of Liam Payne

Three people have been charged in connection with the death of Liam Payne, the British pop star and former member of One Direction who died after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires last month.

Argentine prosecutors have confirmed the news, with prosecutor Andrés Madrea charging the three suspects, whose identities were not revealed, with the crimes of "abandonment of a person followed by death" and "supplying and facilitating the use of narcotics."

Madrea also requested their arrest to judge Laura Bruniard, who ruled the three cannot leave the country.

Payne, 31, fell from his room's balcony on the third floor of his hotel in the upscale neighborhood of Palermo, in the Argentine capital. His autopsy said he died from multiple injuries and external bleeding.

Prosecutors also said that Payne’s toxicological exams showed that his body had "traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescribed antidepressant" in the moments before his death.

Investigators said hours after Payne’s death that he was by himself when he fell. But the prosecutors' office said that one of the people charged was often with the singer during his time in Buenos Aires. The second is a hotel staffer who allegedly gave Payne cocaine during his stay between 13 and 16 October. The third is a drug dealer.

The prosecutor's office also said there was nothing to indicate any third-party involvement in his death and ruled out "self-harm". 

The statement said Payne did not adopt a reflex posture to protect himself from the fall, meaning he may have fallen "in a state of semi or total unconsciousness". 

"Liam Payne was not fully conscious or was experiencing a state of noticeable decrease or loss of consciousness at the time of the fall", it said. 

It added that would "rule out the possibility of a conscious or voluntary act" as "in the state he was in, he did not know what he was doing nor could he understand it".

Local authorities gathered, among other pieces of evidence, Payne's cell phone records, material for forensics and testimonies. They are yet to unlock the singer’s personal computer – which is damaged – and other devices that were seized. 

The charges in Payne’s case bear some resemblance to the US cases stemming from the death of Friends star Matthew Perry a year ago. The actor’s personal assistant and a longtime friend are among those charged with helping supply him with ketamine in the final months of his life, leading up to his overdose on the anesthetic.

Three young men were similarly charged in the opioid-overdose death of rapper Mac Miller in 2018.