Former One Direction star Liam Payne’s family could bring private criminal action against anyone who contributed to his death.
Former One Direction star Liam Payne’s family is taking legal action and it has informed that they could bring private criminal action against anyone who contributed to his death, reported Page Six.
Lawyers for Liam Payne’s family were in court in Argentina on Tuesday. Page Six has obtained papers indicating that music industry veteran lawyer Richard Bray, operating on behalf of the family, has transferred his legal interests to a local law company in Buenos Aires. This implies that Payne’s loved ones will be named plaintiffs in any future criminal cases.
It’s the first time Payne’s family has been addressed in connection with the ongoing inquiry into the singer’s death at the CasaSur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires on October 16 and it comes as shocking photographs of his final moments have been released.
Local prosecutors have since concluded that the injuries sustained by Payne were not a result of self-harm or any external intervention by others. “A source who knows the family said they were ‘100 per cent sure’ that Payne’s parents, Geoff and Karen Payne, and his siblings would want to seek justice for him,” as per Page Six.
Payne, a former member of One Direction, died on October 16 at the age of 31 after he fell from a third-floor balcony at his hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“Prosecutors have already charged two hotel staffers with allegedly providing him drugs, and one friend of Payne’s is a person of interest for failing to intervene and come to his help. However, the investigation has taken an even darker turn in the wake of photos that were released as part of a police report. They show what appears to be staff at the hotel manhandling Payne and shutting him in his hotel room. Though the timestamps on the images are unconfirmed, it appears this occurred soon before his death,” reported Page Six.
According to Nicolas Durrieu, a criminal lawyer based in Buenos Aires, if this is true, hotel staff may face charges of “abandonment of a person.” In this case, it could likely be considered “aggravated” because a person died, with a maximum sentence of 15 years, reported Page Six
Charges of “manslaughter” carry a maximum of five years of prison in Argentina, while anyone convicted of drug facilitation or distribution could face 12 years of imprisonment.
“The legal system also allows the family to bring their own private criminal prosecution and their own investigation, ” said Durrieu. “Victims are very empowered and independent from the prosecutor. Usually, the family joins with the prosecutor, but not always.”
In the recent footage, a police report showed that Payne was trying to escape from his hotel room when he fell. A source told Page Six, “It appears clear to me that Liam was trying to get back downstairs, he did not want to go in his room.” Nonetheless, hotel staff used a master key to enter the room and placed Liam inside, according to the police, reported Page Six.
