by Mick the Ram

Just over three weeks after One Direction’s Liam Payne fell to his death from a hotel balcony, three people have been charged in connection with the tragic incident.

The 31-year-old singer/songwriter died on 16 October at the CasaSur hotel in the upscale neighbourhood of Palermo, in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires.

Staff at the hotel had called the police to report a man behaving in a very aggressive manner in his room, seemingly under the effects of drugs and alcohol.

The much-loved star suffered multiple injuries including a fractured skull, which medics attending the scene said at the time were “incompatible with life”.

Now Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office say medical reports also suggest Payne may have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness, meaning that it rules out the possibility of a conscious or voluntary act; essentially he did not know what he was doing nor have any comprehension of his actions.

According to the office, one person – who has not been named – had been accompanying Payne, and is accused of “the abandonment of a person followed by death”.

Additionally, a hotel employee, plus a third person  – both who also remain unnamed – have been charged with supplying drugs.

The father-of-one became one of the most recognisable names in the pop world after appearing on The X Factor show and rising to fame with the 5-member boy-band, One Direction.

Extended stay

Liam Payne had been in Argentina from the beginning of October, initially to attend a concert by his former bandmate Niall Horan.

However, he had remained there even after his girlfriend Kate Cassidy who had been accompanying him, decided to leave several days before the tragedy, insisting that she never likes to stay in one place for too long.

Likely to have been unconscious when fell

Hotel staff had pleaded for officers to be sent “urgently” amid fears that the guest’s life was in danger and shortly after they arrived a loud sound was heard in an interior courtyard, where the body was discovered.

A post-mortem examination determined his cause of death as “multiple trauma” and “internal and external haemorrhage”, as a result of the fall from the hotel balcony.

Medical experts concluded that the singer “did not adopt a reflex posture” to protect himself during the fall, inferring that he may have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness.

Body now to be flown home

Argentinian authorities investigating the death discovered substances in his hotel room, as well as destroyed objects and furniture.

After a post mortem the public prosecutor’s office have stated that toxicology tests revealed traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system.

His body has now been released to his family to be flown back to the UK.

Three accused

A statement provided by the prosecutor confirmed that during their investigation “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.”

One person is believed to have been with the singer throughout his stay, a hotel employee is accused of supplying cocaine on two separate occasions and a third person is accused of supplying drugs to him also twice on 14 October.

Thorough investigation

Investigations are continuing with the One Direction member’s broken laptop and other devices seized.

The prosecutor’s office has added that it has examined more than 800 hours of video footage from security cameras in the hotel and on public roads, and received dozens of testimonies from hotel staff, family members, friends and medical professionals.

Global superstar

Liam Payne had risen to global fame as part of the much-loved boy-band One Direction, created on the popular UK talent show the X Factor in 2010, alongside Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik.

They enjoyed global success with four UK number one albums and four number one singles, with hits such as: What Makes You Beautiful and Story of My Life, as well as topping charts around the world.

Once news of his death was known tens of thousands of fans remembered the late singer at memorial events in the UK and around the world.