Five people have been charged in connection with the death of One Direction star Liam Payne in Argentina.
Three people have been charged with negligent homicide and two have been charged with supplying drugs, the Argentinian Public Prosecutor’s Office said.
The 31-year-old pop star died after he fell from a third-floor balcony at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires on 16 October.
Negligent homicide – similar to gross negligent manslaughter in the UK – carries a sentence of one to five years, while supplying drugs carries a sentence of up to 15 years.
Roger Nores, described as a “representative” of Payne, was one of those charged with negligent homicide, alongside hotel manager Gilda Martin and receptionist Esteban Grassi.
A hotel employee, Ezequiel Pereyra, and waiter, Braian Paiz, have been charged with supplying drugs on two occasions.
All five have been summoned to appear in court.
A statement from the judge and public prosecutor today said Payne had been “demanding” drugs and alcohol during his stay at the hotel.
On the 16 December, Payne was in the hotel lobby and “unable to stand” due to the “consumption of various substances”, the court document said.
The receptionist and two others “dragged” the singer to his room, and the manager allowed this to happen “at least by omission”.
Given Payne’s “altered” consciousness and the access to a balcony from the room, the “proper thing to do was to leave him in a safe place and with company until a doctor arrived”, according to the judge.
They also accused Payne’s representative, Nores, of leaving Payne on his own in the hotel in a “state of vulnerability”, despite knowing about Payne’s previous addiction problems and that the fact Nores could “not trust that the rest of the hotel staff would act appropriately”.
The judge described Payne’s death as “foreseeable”.
The prosecutor’s office previously ruled out self-harm as a factor in the One Direction star’s death, and said he did not adopt a reflex posture to protect himself from the fall, meaning it can be inferred he may have fallen “in a state of semi or total unconsciousness”.
The new document today reiterated the hypothesis that Payne had “tried to leave the room through the balcony and thus fell”.
The results of toxicology tests revealed that before his death, Payne had traces of alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant in his body.
According to the post-mortem examination, Payne died from “multiple” injuries and internal and external bleeding.
Argentine investigators found what appeared to be narcotics and alcohol strewn around broken objects and furniture in Payne’s hotel room, leading the public prosecution to surmise he had suffered a substance abuse-induced breakdown around the time of his fall.
