Five charged in connection with singer’s death happymamay

Five people have been charged in connection with the death of One Direction singer Liam Payne in Argentina, local media reported.

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 was quoted as saying that hotel manager Gilda Martin and hotel employee Esteban Gracie as well as Roger Norris, who is said to be a friend of Payne’s, were charged with manslaughter.

Brian Baez and Ezequiel Pereira – who worked at the hotel – are accused of supplying drugs.

A judge ordered two of the five defendants to be placed in detention, according to Argentine news site Infobae.

Infobae added that the couple, whose names were not revealed, were summoned to appear in court within 24 working hours.

The BBC has contacted the Attorney General’s Office for comment.

Argentine authorities are investigating Payne’s final days at the CasaSur hotel.

This was announced earlier in November Three people have been charged over his death But their names were not revealed 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 that they spent some time together on the day the star died.

He said Payne “seemed cheerful and happy” when he left him about an hour before the musician fell from the balcony.

After Payne’s death, police found damaged items and furniture in his hotel room.

Hotel staff made two calls to emergency services saying they had a guest who had consumed “a lot of drugs and alcohol” and was “ruining the whole room,” it was previously reported.

In November, the prosecutor’s office said toxicology tests revealed traces of alcohol, cocaine and an antidepressant in Payne’s system.

An autopsy determined the cause of death to be “multiple trauma” and “internal and external bleeding,” as a result of his fall from the hotel balcony.

According to the prosecutor’s office, medical reports also indicated that Payne may have fallen into a state of semi- or total unconsciousness.

The prosecutor’s office said this ruled out the possibility of Payne committing a deliberate or voluntary act, and they concluded that the singer did not know what he was doing and had no understanding of his actions.

Payne became one of the most recognizable names in pop music after appearing on The X Factor and rising to fame with boyband One Direction in the 2000s before the band went on indefinite hiatus in January 2016.

Singer The funeral was held In Amersham, Buckinghamshire, last month.

His former bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik were among the mourners, along with Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy and his ex-partner Cheryl, with whom he has a son.