ReutersFive people have been charged in connection with the death of One Direction singer Liam Payne in Argentina, according to local media reports.
The 31-year-old star died on October 16 after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires.
Argentina’s national criminal and correctional prosecutor’s office said hotel manager Gilda Martin and hotel employee Esteban Grassi, as well as Roger Norris, an alleged drinking buddy, have been charged with manslaughter. .
Brian Pies and Ezequiel Pereira — who both allegedly worked at the hotel — have been charged with drug delivery.
According to Argentinian news website Infobae, a judge has ordered that two of the five accused be remanded.
Infobey added that the couple, whose names have not been reported, have been summoned to appear in court within 24 working hours.
The BBC has reached out to the prosecutor’s office for comment.
Argentine authorities are investigating Payne’s final days at the Casasur Hotel.
It was announced earlier in November. Three people were charged in connection with his death. But their names were not released at that time.
Speaking to US celebrity news outlet TMZ after Payne’s death, Roger Norris said he was a “very good friend” of the singer and had spent time together the day the star died.
When Payne left the musician about an hour before he fell from the balcony, he “seemed cheerful and happy,” he said.
After Payne’s death, police found substances in his hotel room and items and furniture that had been damaged.
Hotel staff made two calls to emergency services saying they had a guest who had taken “a lot of drugs and alcohol”, and was “trashing the whole room”, it was previously reported.
In November, the prosecutor’s office said toxicology tests revealed traces of alcohol, cocaine and prescription antidepressants in Drink’s body.
A post-mortem examination determined the cause of death as “multiple trauma” and “internal and external haemorrhage” as a result of falling from a hotel balcony.
According to the prosecutor’s office, medical reports also indicated that Payne may have fallen into semi- or complete unconsciousness.
The prosecutor’s office said it ruled out the possibility of Payne’s conscious or voluntary act, and concluded that the singer did not know what he was doing and had no awareness of his actions.
Payne became one of the most recognizable names in pop after appearing on The X Factor in the 2010s and rising to fame with boy band One Direction before the band went on an indefinite hiatus in January 2016.
of the singer The funeral was held in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, last month.
Payne’s former bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik, with whom he has a son, were among the mourners, along with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy and his ex-partner Cheryl.