Second accused in Liam Payne drug death surrenders — Argentine police

Liam Payne poses for photographers backstage at the MTV European Music Awards 2017 in London, Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017. Image: Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP

The second of two men accused of supplying drugs to British singer Liam Payne, who plunged to his death from a third-floor hotel room in Buenos Aires last year, has turned himself in, Argentine police said Tuesday, Jan. 7.

The 21-year-old, David Ezequiel Pereyra, presented himself Monday to police 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, who accused Pereyra of having provided drugs to Payne.

Three other people — Payne’s representative in Argentina, the manager of the hotel, and the head of reception—are charged with manslaughter in the case.

Prosecutors said Payne had consumed cocaine, alcohol, and a prescription antidepressant before falling from the balcony of his hotel room.

Payne had spoken publicly about struggling with substance abuse and coping with achieving fame at an early age.

His death prompted a global outpouring of grief from family, former bandmates, and fans, with gatherings of thousands of mourners around the world.

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

Payne enjoyed some solo success before his career stalled.