Lawyers for Liam Payne’s family were in court in Argentina on Tuesday – and a source told Page Six that they could launch private criminal proceedings against anyone who contributed to his death.

Page Six has seen documents showing that veteran music industry lawyer Richard Bray has handed over his legal interests to a local Buenos Aires law firm on behalf of the family.

This means that Payne’s relatives would now appear as named plaintiffs in any future criminal proceedings.

It is the first time Payne’s family has been mentioned in any part of the ongoing investigation into the singer’s death at the Hotel CasaSur Palermo in Buenos Aires on October 16 – and shocking photos of his final moments have been revealed.

A source who knows the family said they are “100% sure” that Payne’s parents, Geoff and Karen Payne, and his siblings will seek justice for him.

The 1D star died aged 31 after falling from the balcony of his hotel room.

Prosecutors have already charged two hotel workers with allegedly giving him drugs, and a friend of Payne’s is under suspicion for failing to intervene and come to his aid.

However, the investigation has taken an even darker turn after photos were released as part of a police report.

They show how hotel employees mistreat Payne and lock him in his hotel room. Although the timestamps on the images are unconfirmed, this appears to have happened shortly before his death.

Nicolás Durrieu, a Buenos Aires-based criminal lawyer, told Page Six that if this was indeed the case, hotel staff could be charged with “abandonment of a person.” In this case, it could probably be considered “aggravated” because a person died, with a maximum sentence of 15 years.

Charges of “manslaughter” in Argentina carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison, while anyone convicted of facilitating or distributing drugs faces a maximum of 12 years in prison.

“The legal system also allows the family to initiate their own private prosecution and investigation,” Durrieu said. “The victims have great power and are independent of the prosecutor. Usually the family goes along with the prosecutor, but not always.”

TMZ reported Monday that security footage and the police report show Payne was trying to escape his hotel room when he fell. Hotel staff knew he was threatening to use the balcony as an escape route, but still left him alone, according to the outlet.

Shocking photos show Payne, who was rioting and under the influence of alcohol in the hotel lobby, lying sprawled as three men carried him to his room minutes before he fell.

However, Payne appeared to be conscious and holding his head upright.

Photos, believed to be from surveillance footage, show that when hotel staff took Liam to the hallway of his room, they struggled with them and tried to go back in the elevator.

A source told Page Six: “It seems clear to me that Liam was trying to get back downstairs, he didn’t want to go to his room.”

Still, hotel staff used a master key to enter the room and brought Liam in, according to the police report obtained by Page Six.

While he was in the room, staff called 911 and said they feared he might use the balcony and accidentally hurt himself.

“We have a guest who is (allegedly) high and drunk; And if he’s conscious, he’ll destroy his room and you need to send someone to us, please. They need to send someone urgently because I don’t know if his life is in danger,” the man, identified only as a hotel manager named Estaban, told the dispatcher.

“He’s in a room with a balcony and we’re worried he could endanger his life.”

Payne had previously spoken about how he hated being locked in hotel rooms, a tactic 1D management resorted to at the height of the band’s fame

“When we were in the band, the best way to secure ourselves – because of the size of the band – was to just lock ourselves in our rooms. And of course, what’s in the room? Minibar,” Payne said during a podcast interview in 2021, revealing how he turned to alcohol to cope. “At one point I thought, ‘Well, I’ll throw a party for one.'”

A source said that Payne, who was buried in the UK last week, had tried to escape his rental home in Florida back in September, using the balcony to escape after his bodyguard pulled him into a drug binge over fears he was on drugs had forced room.

We have contacted a representative for the Payne family.