Buenos Aires police opened an investigation with five people being questioned in connection to the sudden demise of One Direction star Liam Payne last October.
As of writing, ABC News Worldwide and Argentinan La Nacion reported that three individuals have been detained.
“Based on the evidence gathered and after analyzing 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,”
In a translated statement, prosecutors said that ‘exhaustive and meticulous measures were taken to clarify the circumstances” around Payne’s death.
According to the public prosecutor’s office in Argentina, it is that three people had been charged with ‘abandonment of person followed by death’ and facilitation and supply of narcotics in connection with the band member’s death.
“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,” A statement from the public prosecutor’s office in Argentina said.
ABC reported that two of the individuals worked at the CasaSur Hotel, while La Nacion added that the third person was an Argentinian businessman who is allegedly the singer’s friend.
The prosecutors said in the statement that one of the accused accompanied Payne on a daily basis in Argentina, one was a former employee at the hotel the singer was staying at, while the third person allegedly supplied him with drugs.
However, it is yet to be confirmed whether the three individuals are related to prior investigations or not.
The statement added that Argentinian officials carried out a forensic analysis of the singer’s phone, including calls and message history.
Forensic analysis also reviewed 800 hours of video footage from the security cameras at the hotel and nearby roads.
It is to be recalled that a few days after Payne’s death, local police raided the CasaSur hotel, with a government official telling AP that items such as hard drives, computer hard drives, and footage from the hotel cameras on October 23 were collated by a police special investigations unit.
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