Suspect in Liam Payne death says he didn't supply singer with 'narcotics'

Over the weekend, one of the suspects in the investigation into the death of Liam Payne spoke with an Argentinian media source. Last week, three people were held in connection with Payne's death on October 16 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The One Direction singer and solo artist died after falling from a hotel's third-floor balcony.

Liam Payne attends the Grand Reveal Weekend for Atlantis The Royal, Dubai's new ultra-luxury hotel on January 21, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Samir Hussein/Getty Images

In an interview with journalist Guillermo Panizza for Telefe Noticias, 24-year-old waiter Braian Nahuel Paiz admitted to partying with Payne but denied supplying the 31-year-old singer with drugs; to date, Argentine authorities have not revealed the names of any of the suspects detained, and Hollywood Above have been unable to independently confirm that Paiz was one of them.

Paiz said he saw Payne twice before the singer died, but asserted, "I never supplied Liam with drugs. Liam had his initial contact with me at work." He said they exchanged information and then got back together later that night, and the story included photos of the two guys together. "We got together there, and he showed me some of the stuff he was about to release. I've heard that he was doing drugs, but the reality is that when he arrived at the restaurant where I was working, he was already high and didn't eat anything. Paiz stated that the two men corresponded via Payne's secret Instagram account.

When the two men met again at Payne's hotel on Oct. 13, Paiz, who apparently lost his job as a result of the probe, said that he spent the night partying at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel, alleging that the singer was using cocaine while Paiz was using marijuana. "We took drugs together, but I never gave him drugs or accepted any money," Paiz claimed, adding that his house has been searched as part of the investigation, although he has not yet been questioned by authorities.

Paiz also said that he does not know who the other two unknown suspects are or what happened to Payne after he left the hotel room.

Last Monday, officials in Buenos Aires returned Payne's remains to his family for repatriation to the United Kingdom, and the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office No. 14 issued a press statement revealing the final results of toxicological testing on the singer. According to a translated copy of the report, Payne had "alcohol, cocaine, and prescription antidepressants" in his system for 72 hours before his death after falling from a three-story hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The autopsy results revealed that Payne's death was caused by "'multiple trauma' and 'internal and external hemorrhage,' the result of the fall the musician suffered from the balcony of the third-floor room of the hotel in the Palermo neighborhood where he was staying."

Additional studies indicated that Payne's injuries were caused by a fall at the hotel from a height, and that "self-harm of any kind and/or physical intervention by third parties were ruled out." Authorities also noted that Payne did not assume a "reflex posture" to defend himself from the fall, leading them to believe he "may have fallen in a state of semi- or total unconsciousness."

Charges against the three individuals now in custody include the supply and facilitation of narcotics and abandonment resulting in death.