A man was arrested for supplying him with drugs former “One Direction” star Liam Payne before he fell to his death from the third floor of his hotel room in Buenos Aires last year.
Brian Paiz, who is accused of giving Payne cocaine one of five accused defendants related to the death of the 31-year-old singer. He was arrested by Argentine police on Friday. He is one of two men accused of giving Payne drugs.
Paiz's attorney confirmed to CBS News that he was taken into custody.
An Argentine judge confirmed the charges against five people. The other three – a businessman who was with Payne and two hotel managers – are charged with murder.
The two managers saw Payne drunk and unable to stand in the hotel lobby before he died, according to his press release from the prosecutor's office, but allowed him to go up to his room, which had a balcony, instead of monitoring him until medical help arrived.
Payne's autopsy said he died from multiple injuries and external bleeding. Post-mortem toxicology tests found “traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant” in his body before his death. Prosecutors ruled out the possibility that he died by suicide.
One Direction was one of the most successful boy bands in recent times. He announced an indefinite hiatus in 2016 and Payne – as before band members Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson – in pursuit of a a solo career.
