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The One Direction star used cocaine, alcohol and antidepressants before dying
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The One Direction star used cocaine, alcohol and antidepressants before dying

British singer-songwriter Liam Payne poses on the red carpet upon arrival at the BRIT Awards 2019 in London on February 20, 2019. (Photo: AFP)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — One Direction star Liam Payne consumed cocaine, alcohol and a prescription antidepressant before falling to his death from a Buenos Aires hotel balcony last month, Argentine prosecutors said Thursday.

Prosecutors added that three people were accused of supplying drugs and one of them was also accused of abandoning a vulnerable person.

“The results of the toxicological studies, which have been communicated to his family, revealed that, in the moments before his death and during a period covering at least his last 72 hours, Payne had signs of polyconsumption of alcohol, cocaine and a prescribed antidepressant in his body,” prosecutors said.

Payne was found dead on October 16 after falling from the balcony of his third-floor room at the CasaSur Hotel in the Argentine capital.

An autopsy found he died after suffering “multiple traumas” and “internal and external hemorrhages” from the fall.

One Direction, one of the world’s highest-grossing live acts in the 2010s, went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016.

Payne enjoyed some solo success, but his career had recently languished.

His death at age 31 sparked a global outpouring of grief and condolences from family, former bandmates, fans and others.

Prosecutors said one of the three defendants in the case had accompanied him daily during his stay in Buenos Aires and was accused of abandoning a person who later died, as well as supplying him with narcotics.

The second suspect is a hotel employee accused of supplying Payne with cocaine twice while he was staying at CasaSur. A third person is also accused of supplying him with the drug on October 14, two days before his death.

Prosecutors ruled out self-harm and “physical intervention by third parties” as the cause of Payne’s death, saying the injuries he suffered were consistent with those caused by a fall.

“Payne was not fully conscious or was in a state of markedly diminished or absent consciousness at the time of the fall,” the report says.

He was found dead after hotel staff called emergency services to report “a guest overcome by drugs and alcohol, and vandalizing his room.”

The toxicology report was published a day after the singer’s father, Geoff Payne, repatriated his body to Britain aboard a flight from Buenos Aires to London.

Payne’s death has sparked debate over whether the music industry has a duty of care for the mental health of stars who find fame at a young age.

The singer from Wolverhampton, central England, had spoken publicly about his struggle with substance abuse and the pressures of teenage stardom.

He auditioned for the popular television talent show “The X Factor” at the age of 14, but was unsuccessful.

Two years later he won gold on the show, which teamed him with Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik to form One Direction.

Over the next six years, the group enjoyed worldwide fame and legions of screaming fans, selling more than 70 million copies of their five albums. They went on four world tours and won almost 200 awards.

Payne is survived by a seven-year-old son, Bear, with Girls Aloud star Cheryl Tweedy.