Five people have been charged in connection with former One Direction’s Liam Payne’s hotel death including one of his close friends.
The singer, who was just 31, died of multiple traumas and “internal and external haemorrhage” on October 16 as a result of a fall from the third floor balcony of the CasaSur Hotel in Buenos Aires where he had been staying with his partner Kate Cassidy.
Among the group are the One Direction singer’s friend Roger Nores. Members of staff at the CasaSur Palermo hotel, including chief receptionist Esteban Grassi and head of security Gilda Martin have allegedly been charged with manslaughter.
Waiter Braian Nahuel Paiz, 24, and hotel employee Ezequiel David Pereyra, 21, have been accused of selling Liam drugs and given 24 hours to return to court, according to local news site Infobae.
Liam’s pal Roger Nores, who said he left the hotel around an hour before the musician fell to his death, has been reportedly charged with negligent homicide and been banned from leaving the country
A press release from Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No 16 previously said it would be investigating the incident as an “inconclusive death” after the conclusions of the report.
Five witnesses were then questioned in order to reconstruct what happened on October 16 at the Casa Sur Hotel in the Palermo area of Buenos Aires.
Reports say staff at the hotel made two calls to emergency services, with audio revealing a staff member had asked for assistance for a guest who was “intoxicated by drugs and alcohol”.
Police officers and the emergency services found Payne dead at the scene and his body was transferred to the judicial morgue.
The prosecutor’s office indicated the musician was alone when the fall occurred and said he appeared to be “going through some kind of outbreak due to substance abuse”.
Forensic experts said no injuries were observed that would suggest the intervention of third parties, although “the investigation is also aimed at determining the possible intervention of third parties in the events prior to his death”.
Police in the Argentine capital previously said the music star’s hotel room had been “in complete disarray” with “various items broken”.
They added that a whiskey bottle, lighter and mobile phone had been retrieved from the internal hotel courtyard where Payne’s body was found.
Thousands of tributes poured in for the star who has a seven-year-old son Bear with ex girlfriend Cheryl Cole including from his former bandmates, Simon Cowell and many of his fans.
His funeral was held on Wednesday, November 20, in Amersham, Buckinghamshire.
His family have said they are “heartbroken” and added: “Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul.”
