Prosecutors in Argentina have charged three people in connection with the death of former One Direction singer Liam Payne, officials announced Thursday.
Payne, 31, died on October 16 when he fell from the balcony of the Casa Sur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires.
A man, who authorities say spent time with Payne every day during his stay in Buenos Aires, is facing a charge of "tragic abandonment of a person," which carries a sentence of five to 15 years in prison. according to a press release from Argentina's National Criminal Prosecutor's Office.
The other two accused allegedly supplied Payne with drugs, including cocaine, and are each facing two counts of supplying drugs. Officials did not specify the sentence for the charges.
One of the accused for supplying narcotics was a hotel employee, the prosecution reports. The three people have been notified of the charges and have been banned from leaving the country. None of the suspects have been identified by name.
The release also states that Payne "was not fully conscious or experiencing a state of apparent loss of consciousness" at the time of the fall.
"According to the prosecution, this situation excludes the possibility of a conscious or intentional action on the part of the victim," the statement says.
The investigation included dozens of interviews with hotel staff, Payne's family and friends, as well as experts in the fields of medicine, biochemistry and psychiatry. Investigators reviewed more than 800 hours of footage from the hotel and public streets and analyzed Payne's cellphone to verify his fingerprints in the period before his death.
An autopsy was also performed. Payne's body was then returned to his father, Geoff Payne, who had arrived in Argentina the day after his son's death.
Toxicology tests performed during the autopsy showed that Payne had only "traces" of the drug in his system. "Traces" of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant were found, according to the prosecution. Medical experts confirmed that Payne had only suffered injuries from the fall.
All the data collected by investigators was included in a 180-page report, which was presented to Judge Laura Bruniard, who oversees criminal cases. Bruniard has approved charges against three people, but the investigation will continue as investigators try to analyze Payne's other personal devices.
