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Three charged in the death of One Direction singer Liam Payne
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Three charged in the death of One Direction singer Liam Payne

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Three people have been charged in connection with the death of One Direction singer Liam Payne in a fall from his Buenos Aires hotel balcony last month, Argentine authorities said on Thursday.

The 31-year-old’s death shocked the world and raised questions about how he fell.

A 911 call from a hotel employee the day Payne died warned that Payne had been acting aggressively and may have been under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

An autopsy revealed the former boy band member had traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system when he died, a prosecutor’s office said in a statement Thursday.

Payne’s body was handed over to his father Geoff at the weekend and flown back to his native England. In recent weeks, Geoff has been spotted with One Direction’s long-time bodyguard Paul Higgins at the CasaSur hotel where his son died.

Those charged in Payne’s death include a suspected drug dealer, a hotel employee who may have supplied Payne with the cocaine, and a person who was close to the singer, authorities said.

All are accused of playing a role in providing Payne with drugs, with the hotel employee accused of giving Payne cocaine at least twice during his stay and the alleged drug dealer believed to have supplied it on two more occasions or two days before his death.

The person who was visiting with Payne is also charged with “abandonment of a person resulting in death,” authorities said.

None of the accused have been named, but will be notified and banned from leaving the country, according to the statement.

The investigation into the circumstances of Payne’s death will continue, prosecutors said, adding that they are still trying to unlock the singer’s broken laptop.

Witnesses told local media that they saw Payne smashing his laptop in the hotel lobby.

(Reporting by Nicolas Misculin; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez, Bill Berkrot and Sandra Maler)