Five people have been charged in Argentina in connection with the death of One Direction musician Liam Payne.
The singer died aged 31 in October after falling from the third-floor balcony of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires.
The hotel’s manager, a receptionist and a friend of Payne have been charged with manslaughter, Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office said on Monday, in a statement which referred to the defendants only by their initials.
They are reported to be hotel manager Gilda Martin, receptionist Esteban Grassi and Payne’s friend Roger Nores.
Two others, hotel employee Ezequiel Pereyra and waiter Braian Paiz, have been charged with supplying cocaine.
Prosecutors launched an investigation shortly after Payne’s death on October 16th.
In early November, three people were charged with “abandonment of a person followed by death” and supply and facilitation of drugs in connection with Payne’s death, but the prosecutors did not name the defendants.
The singer died of multiple traumas and “internal and external haemorrhage”, a post-mortem examination report said.
According to prosecutors , “self-harm” was ruled out and no injuries were observed that would suggest the intervention of third parties.
It was concluded that Payne was “not fully conscious or was experiencing a state of noticeable decrease or loss of consciousness at the time of the fall”.
Police found substances in his hotel room, and destroyed objects and furniture, prosecutors said.
Staff at the hotel made two calls to emergency services, and audio disclosed they had asked for assistance for a guest who was “intoxicated by drugs and alcohol”.
Payne’s funeral in November in Buckinghamshire was attended by Cheryl Tweedy, the mother of his son Bear, and fellow One Direction stars Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson, along with his family and friends.
Fans around the world mourned the late Wolverhampton-born singer, and Rita Ora paid a tearful tribute to him at the 2024 MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) in Manchester.
After his band went on hiatus he launched a successful solo career, releasing his debut solo album LP1 in December 2019, which included the songs Polaroid and Strip That Down featuring Quavo, and the track For You with Ora.
