Geoff Payne was informed in person about the proceedings leading to arrests made in connections to his son's death in Argentina.
Three people have been charged in connection with the death of singer Liam Payne, the public prosecutor’s office in Argentina said on Thursday night. The update on the investigation into the One Direction singer's passing comes almost one month singer falling to his death from a third-floor balcony of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 16.
The former X Factor star's heartbroken father Geoff flew over to Argentina immediately upon hearing of his son's passing and remained there until Liam's body was released and flown back to the U.K on Wednesday.
The public prosecutor’s office in Argentina said on Thursday that three people had been charged with "abandonment of a person followed by death" and supply and facilitation of narcotics in connection with the death of dad-of-one Liam. The musician's father had been informed in person of the proceedings leading up to the arrest.
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Anadolu via Getty Images)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. The statement said: “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.”
Prosecutors said 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. Nine raids have also been ordered on properties in Buenos Aires and the investigation continues with some of Payne’s devices still being analysed.
The office also said it had completed a detailed analysis of more than 800 hours of video footage from security cameras and obtained several dozen testimonies from hotel staff, family members, friends and medical professionals.
According to the post-mortem examination, Payne died from multiple injuries as well as internal and external bleeding caused by the fall. His body was found in the hotel’s internal courtyard. After Payne’s death, police found substances in his hotel room, and destroyed objects and furniture, according to the public prosecutor’s office.
In the wake of Liam's death last month a petition calling for legislation to protect the mental health of artists in the entertainment industry was launched. The petition, launched on Change.org by a fan of the late dad-of-one, seeks to "implore lawmakers to create legislation safeguarding the mental health of artists within the industry".
It calls for legislation, dubbed Liam's Law, which would necessitate "regular mental health check-ups, adequate rest periods and the presence of mental health professionals on-set, including any ongoing support during their career". Liam previously said he struggled with alcoholism at the peak of his success, describing hitting "rock bottom" to The Diary Of A CEO podcast host Steven Bartlett, before saying in 2023 that he was sober after going into rehab.
Liam first auditioned for The X Factor in 2008 when he was 14, singing Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me To The Moon, before he returned to the show two years later aged 16 and was put into One Direction alongside Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles, who went on to be one of the biggest boybands in the world.
He is survived by his seven-year-old son Bear Payne, whom he shared with ex Cheryl Tweedy.
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