Three people charged over One Direction star Liam Payne's death

British singer-songwriter Liam Payne poses on the red carpet on arrival for the BRIT Awards 2019 in London on February 20, 2019. Photo: AFP / TOLGA AKMEN

Three people have been charged in Argentina for crimes related to the death of Liam Payne, a former member of the boyband One Direction, according to the public prosecutor's office.

The British pop star, who was 31, died on 16 October after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The late singer had alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant in his system before his death, Argentina's National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office also said Friday.

The toxicology results indicated that Payne "may have fallen into a state of semi or total unconsciousness," it said.

The prosecutor's office also said medical examinations confirmed that the singer's injuries were "compatible with those caused by falling from a height." Examinations ruled out self-inflicted injuries or the intervention of other people, the office added.

Investigators had interviewed two female escorts who were with Payne in the hours before his death, a source with knowledge of the case told CNN on Friday. The women, both age 25, stated they did not see Payne use drugs in front of them, but he did consume alcohol, the individual added.

Payne rocketed to global stardom as part of One Direction, the massively popular boyband that was created on the British version of the X Factor in 2010. The group, which included members Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik, announced an "indefinite hiatus" in 2016.

He had spoken openly about his struggles with substance abuse and his mental health. In the summer of 2023, Payne said he was marking six months of sobriety after completing treatment in a US facility. Payne's tour was set to kick off in South America in September of that year, but he had to postpone the scheduled dates after suffering a kidney infection.

The three people charged include an employee of the hotel where Payne died, according to the newspaper La Nacion.

The employee was charged with two counts of supplying Payne with cocaine while he was staying at the hotel.

Another person was also charged with two counts of supplying cocaine.

A third person was said to have been with Payne daily throughout his time in Buenos Aires and was charged with abandoning a person followed by death, as well as supplying narcotics, according to prosecution court documents quoted by the paper.

"The results of analyses - already communicated to his family - revealed that, in the moments before his death and in his last 72 hours, Payne had consumed alcohol, cocaine and a prescribed antidepressant," the autopsy document said.

- CNN and RNZ