Authorities investigating Liam Payne's death rule out suicide in One Direction singer's fatal fall
On Wednesday, Argentina's National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office confirmed in a press release that "all the injuries that Payne had were compatible with those caused by a fall from a height and that self-harm of any kind and/or physical intervention by third parties were ruled out," the release states.
Additionally, according to the release, Payne "did not adopt a reflex posture to protect herself from the fall" and "may have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness."
Payne died on Oct. 16 as a "result of the fall he suffered from the balcony of the third floor room of the hotel in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo where he was staying," according to the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office No. 16, temporarily headed by Marcelo Roma.
The Buenos Aires police said they found Payne's hotel room "in complete disarray" with "various items broken." Packs of clonazepam (which is commonly sold under the brand name Klonopin and works as a central nervous system depressant), energy supplements and other over-the-counter drugs were found strewn among his belongings, according to the Associated Press. Forensics teams also reported that a whiskey bottle, lighter and cellphone were retrieved from the internal courtyard where Payne's body was found.
According to Wednesday's release, three suspects — "one who accompanied the artist daily during his stay in the city of Buenos Aires," a hotel employee and an alleged drug dealer — have been arrested and charged in connection to Payne's death.
The first person accused, someone who "accompanied the artist on a daily basis during his stay in the city of Buenos Aires," was charged with the crimes of abandonment of a person followed by death, the release stated.
"The second defendant is a hotel employee who must answer for two proven supplies of cocaine to Liam Payne during the period he was at the hotel, and the third, also a drug supplier, is accused of two other clearly proven supplies during two different times on October 14." Both were charged with the crime of supplying narcotics.
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Additionally, per the release, "the results of the toxicological studies — already communicated to his family — revealed that, in the moments prior to his death and in the period of at least his last 72 hours, Payne only presented traces of polydrug use of alcohol, cocaine and a prescribed antidepressant in his body. This conclusion was reached after complete toxicological analyses on urine, blood and vitreous humor, carried out in a very short time."
The autopsy was reportedly completed and concluded, and "the delivery of the body to the father of the deceased, Geoff Payne" was carried out last weekend.
Payne had one child, a 7-year-old son, Bear, with ex-girlfriend Cheryl Cole .
According to the release, the investigation is ongoing, stating: "Beyond the evidentiary forcefulness that was achieved so far (visual, registry, medical, scientific, documentary, telephone, testimonial, etc.), the investigation must continue, since, among other procedures, the unlocking of the victim's personal netbook — which is broken — and other devices seized in the investigation are still ongoing."
