Three people have been charged in relation to the death of Liam Payne.
Payne, a former member of One Direction, was found dead in Argentina last month.
In a press release on Friday, public prosecutors said three people have been charged with supplying drugs to Payne, one of whom has also been charged with “abandonment of a person followed by death”.
The prosecutor’s office also said traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant were present in his system.
Authorities have investigated Payne’s laptop and phone, as well as more than 800 hours of CCTV footage.
Liam Payne’s death
Liam Payne was found dead in Bueno Aires, the capital of Argentina, on 16 October.
State police confirmed the 31-year-old fell from a hotel balcony.
According to local newspaper La Nación, police responded to an emergency call from the hotel manager, citing “an aggressive man who could be under the effects of drugs and alcohol”.
This week, authorities announced they had released his body to his family.
One Direction
In the 2010s, Payne auditioned for the UK talent show The X Factor. He and four other teenage boys – Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Harry Styles – were put into a group called One Direction.
The group came third on the show. Their debut single ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ catapulted them to international fame.
They were one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. They announced an ‘indefinite hiatus’ in 2016.
Payne’s career
Following the group’s split, Payne released several singles and an album, LP1. His debut single ‘Strip That Down’ was his most successful.
He most recently released ‘Teardrops’ earlier this year.
Payne has a seven-year-old with former partner, singer Cheryl, who was a judge on Payne’s season of The X Factor.
Last July, Payne announced he had been sober from alcohol for six months.
