The singer had died at his hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 16 October
A major update into the death of former One Direction singer Liam Payne has reportedly seen three people detained and one home raided.
Payne, 31, passed away after falling three floors from his balcony at CasaSur hotel in Buenos Aires on 16 October.
Alberto Crescenti, the head of the state emergency medical system, later confirmed the singer had died at the scene and that his injuries were ‘incompatible with life’.
An autopsy report later conducted in the Argentinian capital revealed that Payne had suffered ‘internal and external haemorrhaging’ from the 40 metre fall.
(John Phillips/Getty Images)
Following the singer’s death an investigation was opened by police in Buenos Aires, with five people being questioned in connection to the incident back in October.
Days later the CasaSur hotel was raided by local police, with a government official telling AP that a police special investigations unit had went to the hotel and seized items such as computer hard drives and footage from hotel cameras on 23 October.
The latest update – initially reported by ABC News Worldwide and Argentinian outlet La Nacion – that three individuals had been detained, with ABC reporting that two of the individuals were workers from the CasaSur hotel, while La Nacion added the third individual was an Argentinian businessman who is said to be friend of Payne’s.
It’s yet to be confirmed if the three individuals detained are related to prior investigations, however.
According to PA, the public prosecutor’s office in Argentina has confirmed three people had been charged with ‘abandonment of a person followed by death’ and supply and facilitation of narcotics in connection with Payne’s death.
According to a translation of the statement, prosecutors said ‘exhaustive and meticulous measures were taken to clarify the circumstances’ around the former One Direction singer’s death.
Payne rose to fame as a member of One Direction (Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
“Based on the evidence gathered and after analysing the various bodies of proceedings and numerous documentary annexes and the background of the case, prosecutor Andres Esteban Madrea formally charged three people, requesting their questioning and arrest in a 180-page ruling presented last Friday to Judge Bruniard,” the statement reads.
Prosecutors said that one of the accused was accompanying the singer on a daily basis in Argentina, while another was an employee at the hotel where Payne was staying. The third person allegedly supplied drugs.
The statement added that officials in Argentina had carried out a forensic analysis of Payne’s phone, including his call and message history, and also reviewed 800 hours of video footage from security cameras at the hotel and on nearby roads.
Nine raids have also been ordered on properties in Buenos Aires and the investigation continues with some of Payne’s devices still being analysed.
A statement from the public prosecutor’s office in Argentina added: “Illicit conduct was discovered from which three people were charged with the crimes of abandonment of a person followed by death, supply and facilitation of narcotics.”
LADbible Group has contacted Buenos Aires police for further comment.
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