Three people have been arrested in connection with the death of the member of One Direction, Liam Payneon October 16 in Buenos Aires, after falling from the balcony of the third floor of a hotel. None of them have been identified by name.
According to authorities, one of the individuals spent time with Payne every day while he was in Argentina and was charged with abandonment of a person after his death. The charge carries a possible sentence of five to fifteen years in prison. The other two were charged with two counts of supplying narcotics each. One of them is an employee of the Casa Sur Palermo hotel, where Payne was staying.
According to Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office, Payne died from the fall, but did not jump from the balcony, as had previously been speculated. Prosecutors said Payne was probably “not fully conscious or was experiencing a state of marked diminution or loss of consciousness.” For the prosecution, this situation would also rule out the possibility of a conscious or voluntary act on the part of the victim.
Meanwhile, collaborator Sam Pounds postponed last week’s planned release of Payne’s first posthumous song, “Do No Wrong,” saying, “It’s not time yet. We are all mourning Liam’s death and I want the family to grieve in peace and prayer. “We will all wait.”
