The second of two men accused of supplying drugs to British singer Liam Paynewho plunged to his death from a third-floor hotel room in Buenos Aires last year has surrendered to authorities, Argentine police said Tuesday.
David Ezequiel Pereyra, 21, presented himself to the police on Monday in Barracas, south of Buenos Aires, a police source told AFP.
Pereyra was an employee at the Casa Sur hotel in the Argentine capital, where the former One Direction singer died last October.
Last week, police arrested 24-year-old hotel waiter Braian Paiz — accused along with Pereyra of supplying drugs to Payne. Paiz’s attorney confirmed to CBS News that he had been arrested. Toxicology tests conducted after Payne’s death revealed he had “traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescribed antidepressant” in his body.
In total, five people are charged in the death of the pop singer. Three of them – Payne’s representative in Argentina, the hotel manager and the front desk manager – are charged with manslaughter in the case.
Prosecutors said last month that the hotel manager and the hotel front desk manager allowed Payne to be taken to his room, which had a balcony, instead of keeping him somewhere safe and in company, until upon the arrival of medical help.
Hospitality employees I called the police the same day to report an “aggressive man who may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” a Buenos Aires police spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News on Oct. 16, the day Payne died .
Payne had spoken publicly about his struggle with drug addiction and his ability to achieve fame at a young age.
His death sparked a global outpouring of grief from family, former band members and fans, with gatherings of thousands of mourners across the world.
One Direction, one of the world’s highest-grossing live acts of the 2010s, went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016. Payne enjoyed some solo success before his career petered out.
