Liam Payne's tragic death triggers legal battle over drug claims

Liam Payne, late music icon who left the world mourning over his tragic death on October 16, is now once again making headlines.

The case has taken a shocking turn as officials look for answers in the singer’s tragic final moments.

However, two men are set to face trial after being accused of giving Liam Payne cocaine just hours before he fell from a hotel balcony. 

Waiter Braian Nahuel Paiz and ex-hotel worker Ezequiel David Pereyra have been in jail since January.

They're now facing trial in Argentina for allegedly giving Liam drugs before his tragic death. If found guilty, they could be sentenced to up to 15 years. 

The trial date hasn’t been decided yet, but the case is already drawing a lot of attention.

The pair told investigators that Liam Payne used the drug in his hotel room, saying he snorted and smoked it just minutes before his death at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel.

Argentina’s prosecutors said the singer first met Paiz, 25, while dining at a restaurant in Puerto Madero. He later crossed paths with Pereyra, 24, during his stay at the hotel.

The statement reads: "The autopsy showed Liam's death was caused by polytrauma and internal and external haemorrhaging and it was also determined he had ethyl alcohol in a concentration of up to 2.7 grams per litre as well as cocaine, methylecgonine, benzoylecgonine, cocaethylene and sertraline.

"The forensic medical specialists who performed the autopsy indicated toxicology results showed the dead man consumed cocaine via his nose as well as inhaling it by smoking the drug," it continued. 

"Consumption took place at least 72 hours prior to his death and up to a few minutes before his death."

The two accused are the only ones expected to face trial in the case.