Liam Payne death probe major update as number of suspects jumps to five

After two hotel employees at the Buenos Aires hotel where he died were informed that they were also being looked into by a formal investigation, the number of suspects in Argentina’s ongoing Liam Payne investigation has reportedly increased to five.

One of the new suspects, who was one of the trio pictured carrying Liam up to his room shortly before the tragedy, has been named locally as the hotel’s chief receptionist. He called 999 to request urgent medical care for him before he died from his third-floor balcony.

The shocking photo raised questions about the CasaSur Palermo Hotel staff’s behavior and their decision to not let the singer stay in the lobby while they waited for assistance to arrive.

The second hotel employee has been appointed head of security, according to respected Argentinian news website Infobae. According to the statement, investigating judge Laura Bruniard had instructed the two men to designate a defense attorney so she could formally question them under the oath. Bruniard is now in charge of the investigation after winning an appeal by prosecutors against her decision to rule herself out of the inquiry on a technicality.

Next week in December, according to reports, their first interview was scheduled for next week, which is expected to take place via Zoom. Public prosecutors are expected to comment on the matter in the coming days, but they have not yet made any official statements.

If the judge finds there is sufficient evidence to formally accuse the hotel workers of wrongdoing at a later time in her investigation, Infobae did not specify what criminal charges the hotel employees might face. Prosecutors were reportedly considering filing a manslaughter charge against the hotel employees who filmed Liam’s exit from the lobby shortly before his drink and drug-fuelled balcony plunge, according to local reports last week.

The third man who was seen lifting up the singer, who was wearing trainers, shorts, and a T-shirt, was unidentified last month by the Daily Mail, which published the final photo of Liam massaging in the hotel spa. No public information has been made about him.

The three suspects who are currently being investigated were called in for questioning as of today’s reports regarding the naming of new suspects. Locals have identified them as Liam’s close friend and two ex-hotel employees.

The waiter, who is accused of being Liam’s “drug dealer,” admitted to having taken cocaine and marijuana during their second hotel encounter shortly before the singer’s passing last month on Telefe Noticias.

But he insisted: “I never took drugs to him or accepted any money. Because he appeared to be willing to give money for everything, I’ve received messages where he offers me money.

The other man has been identified as one of the three individuals under investigation, and he has publicly disputed his innocence. The businessman who has been called the singer’s manager responded to reports that listed him as one of the suspects in relation to the drug accusations and allegations that he abandoned him before his death by saying in a statement: “I never abandoned Liam, I went to his hotel three times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened.”

When I left, there were over 15 people chatting and laughing with him in the hotel lobby. Never could I have imagined this would occur. I testified to the prosecutor on October 17 as a witness, but I haven’t spoken to any police or prosecutor since. I wasn’t Liam’s manager. He was just my very dear friend, “he said.

The other worker has not yet made a public opinion. Three men, whom the prosecution did not identify by name, were being formally investigated on suspicion of abandoning a person who later passed away and of providing and facilitating drugs in a lengthy statement released on November 7.

One was described as “the person who frequently accompanied Liam while he was staying in Argentina,” according to the statement. The singer had traces of an antidepressant in his system as well as alcohol and cocaine before he passed away, according to tests.

Prosecutors also made it clear Liam had already committed suicide and that he was in either a semi-conscious state as he fell from his hotel balcony without knowing what he was doing.

The second suspect is a hotel employee who must respond after Liam Payne received two proven cocaine deliveries while he was staying at the hotel, according to them regarding the hotel worker and the alleged “drug dealer.” A drug dealer is also under investigation for two more clearly identified cocaine deliveries that occurred on October 14 at two different times.

Following a second visit to the makeshift shrine set up by fans outside the singer’s hotel, Liam’s father, Geoff, flew to Argentina two days after his son’s death. He came back to the UK with his body on November 7.

His former bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik were among mourners at his November 20 funeral in Amersham, Bucks. Simon Cowell, James Corden, his girlfriend Kate Cassidy and Liam’s former partner Cheryl, mum to their seven-year-old son Bear, also joined his family and other friends at the private ceremony.

After a judge’s appeal to overturn her exit from the investigation, prosecutors won last week to get out of the lockdown surrounding Liam’s hotel death. The victory of lead prosecutor Andres Madrea in the appeal court was anticipated to facilitate the inquiry’s acceleration.

Due to the fact that one of the allegations was that Liam, 31, had been abandoned before his death on October 16 at the Casasur Palermo Hotel, Judge Laura Bruniard claimed the case needed to be investigated by a conventional Buenos Aires court under Argentinian law.

A higher court accepted Mr. Madrea’s claim that her decision was “premature” late last Tuesday. His second victory on appeal came after he successfully challenged a previous decision to not put him in prison. After his questioning, it is anticipated that a final decision regarding the 24-year-old’s sentence will be made in the absence of a final ruling on whether he is imprisoned in the wake of the ongoing investigation.

Before he passed away, Liam’s two female escorts are currently being treated as witnesses, but they are alleged to have retained a lawyer to represent them despite not having to do so.

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Source: Mirror