Three face drug charges in death of former One Direction singer Liam Payne

Three unnamed individuals have been charged in the death of former One Direction singer Liam Payne, authorities in Argentina announced last week.

One individual faces up to 15 years in prison on a charge of abandoning a person followed by death, and for the supply and facilitation of drugs.

As reported by the BBC, the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office said a hotel employee and a third individual are also charged with supplying drugs.

Payne, 31, fell from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on October 16, 2024, and autopsy results revealed “multiple traumas” and “internal and external hemorrhaging.” Payne suffered 25 injuries that were “consistent with a fall from a great height.”

The singer was visiting his former bandmate, Niall Horan, who was touring Argentina. Payne posted on social media about singing and dancing with girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, at one of Horan’s concerts. On the day he fell from the balcony, Cassidy had left the country.

Emergency services received a call that a guest was “overwhelmed by drugs and alcohol” and “destroying his room.”

“I don’t know if the guest’s life is in danger. But he has a room with a balcony and we’re a little afraid that he might do something life-threatening,” the hotel’s front desk manager said in a second emergency call.

When emergency services arrived on the scene where Payne fell, he was pronounced dead with “no possibility of resuscitation.”

A toxicology report revealed traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant. Self-harm was ruled out as a cause in Payne’s death. Authorities believe Payne was either unconscious or semi-conscious when he fell from the balcony.

Payne was born in Wolverhampton, England and joined show business at age 12 as the member of a theater company. He studied music technology at the City of Wolverhampton College.

After performing on “The X Factor” in 2008 and 2010, Payne was invited to join a five-piece boy band named One Direction. The group would go on to fame with chart-topping singles including “What Makes You Beautiful,” “The Story of My Life” and “Best Song Ever.” Payne co-wrote more than half of the songs on One Direction‘s third and fourth albums.

Payne began to record as a solo artist in 2016. His single, “Teardrops,” was released in the UK after his death.

He is survived by a 7-year-old son.