A 24-year-old man who has been named a suspect in One Direction star Liam Payne’s sudden death on October 16 in Argentina has spoken out about his connection to the tragic late singer. Braian Nahuel Paiz, who is one alleged suspect of several in Liam Payne’s death, spoke to a journalist for Telege Noticias about his interaction with Payne.

Paiz claimed over the weekend that he did indeed party with the late 31-year-old pop star. However, he claims that he did not provide drugs to Payne. For reference, an autopsy recently revealed that Payne had traces of alcohol, prescription antidepressants, and cocaine in his system when he died.

Paiz came forward voluntarily with information for Telege Noticias. He is likely considered a suspect in the case. However, Argentinan police have not released the names of any of the subjects they currently have charged and detained.

“I never supplied Liam with drugs,” said Paiz, translated from Spanish to English. “Liam’s first contact with me was at my place of work.”

Paiz went on to note that the two exchanged contact information and reconvened later that same night. According to Paiz, Payne then showed him music and was visibly under the influence of drugs already.

“I’ve heard people saying he was taking drugs, but the truth is that when he got to the restaurant where I was working he was already under the effects of drugs and he didn’t actually eat anything,” said Paiz.

The two men got together again on October 14 in Payne’s hotel room. Paiz asserts that he partied all night at CasaSur Palermo Hotel and that Payne was using cocaine while Paiz was using marijuana.

“We took drugs together, but I never took drugs to him or accepted any money,” Paiz said.

The Tragic Death of Liam Payne
Paiz has claimed that he lost his job due to the investigation. You can watch the interview in Spanish below:

Singer Liam Payne’s death has been the subject of quite a bit of controversy outside of the above-noted suspect. The former One Direction star fell to his death from a third-floor hotel balcony in Argentina in October. The star had historically been frank about his struggles with his mental health and drug abuse.