Liam Payne's death 'not being treated as suicide', say prosecutors

Liam Payne's death was 'not intentional' after he plunged from a hotel balcony, prosecutors in Argentina have claimed.

The 31-year-old pop star, who rose to fame in X Factor boyband One Direction, died after he fell from a third-floor balcony at the Casa Sur Hotel where he had been staying in Buenos Aires, on October 16. New information released by the Public Prosecutor's Office, as seen by the Manchester Evening News, states that Payne was 'not fully conscious or was experiencing a state of noticeable decrease or loss of consciousness at the time of the fall'.

It comes after it was reported that three people had been charged with 'abandonment of a person followed by death' and the supply and facilitation of narcotics in connection with his death.

READ MORE Three charged in connection with death of One Direction star Liam Payne

Prosecutors said one of the accused was accompanying the singer on a daily basis in Argentina, while another was an employee at the hotel where Payne was staying. The third person allegedly supplied drugs.

While widespread reports state three people have been charged with offences linked to Liam Payne's death, under the Argentine judicial system it is believed they have instead been arrested and placed under official suspicion

The prosecutor's office said in a statement, now translated to English: "The phenomenon of the lack of defense or self-preservation reflex in the fall, together with other relevant data from his consumption, allow us to conclude that Liam Payne was not fully conscious or was experiencing a state of noticeable decrease or loss of consciousness at the time of the fall.

"For the prosecution, this situation would also rule out the possibility of a conscious or voluntary act on the part of the victim, since, in the state he was in, he did not know what she was doing nor could he understand it."

Officials in Argentina say they have since carried out a forensic analysis of Payne’s phone, including his call and message history, and also reviewed 800 hours of video footage from security cameras at the hotel and on nearby roads.

A statement added that additional reports from medical professionals stated Payne's injuries were 'compatible with those caused by a fall from a height' and that 'physical intervention by third parties were ruled out.'

Nine raids have also been ordered on properties in Buenos Aires and the investigation continues with some of Payne’s devices still being analysed. According to the post-mortem examination, Payne died from multiple injuries as well as internal and external bleeding caused by the fall.

His body was found in the hotel’s internal courtyard.