BUENOS AIRES — Three people were charged in connection with the death of Liam Payne, a former member of musical group One Direction who died after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires last month, Argentine prosecutors said Thursday.

Prosecutor Andrés Madrea charged the three suspects, whose identities were not revealed, with the crimes of "abandonment of a person followed by death" and "supplying and facilitating the use of narcotics," the prosecutor's office said.

Madrea also requested their arrest to judge Laura Bruniard, who ruled the three cannot leave the country.

Payne fell from his room's balcony on the third floor of his hotel in the upscale neighborhood of Palermo in the Argentine capital. His autopsy said he died from multiple injuries and external bleeding.

A picture of former One Direction singer Liam Payne is surrounded by flowers and candles Oct. 17 as fans gather outside the hotel where he was found dead after falling from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Prosecutors also said Payne's toxicological exams showed his body had "traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescribed antidepressant."

Investigators said hours after Payne's death that he was by himself when he fell. The prosecutors' office said one of the people charged was often with the singer during his time in Buenos Aires. The second is a hotel staffer who allegedly gave Payne cocaine during his stay between Oct. 13 and 16. The third is a drug dealer.

The charges bear some resemblance to the U.S. cases stemming from the death of "Friends" star Matthew Perry a year ago. The actor's personal assistant and a longtime friend are among those charged with helping supply him with ketamine in the final months of his life, leading up to his overdose on the anesthetic.

Three young men were similarly charged in the opioid-overdose death of rapper Mac Miller in 2018.

Singer Liam Payne’s body is being flown back to the UK from Argentina for his funeral.  The One Direction star's body has remained in Argentina since he tragically fell from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires. The late singer’s father, Geoff Payne, has been in Argentina since the accident and is taking his son's body back to the UK for burial. His body was held for toxicology tests, which was delayed due to the possibility that drugs Payne took before his death were mixed with unknown substances. According to TMZ, Argentinian police have raided the homes of two hotel employees as part of an investigation to identify who sold Payne the drugs. Early autopsy results showed that the singer had "pink cocaine" in his system, a dangerous narcotic mixture of meth, ecstasy, and ketamine.  Former bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik are expected to attend the funeral service.

One Direction was among the most successful boy bands of recent times. It announced an indefinite hiatus in 2016 and Payne — like his former bandmates Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson — pursued a solo career.

The singer posted on his Snapchat account that he traveled to Argentina to attend Horan's concert in Buenos Aires on Oct. 2. He shared videos of himself dancing with his girlfriend, American influencer Kate Cassidy, and singing along in the stands. Cassidy left Argentina after the show, but Payne stayed behind.


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