Five people charged in relation to Liam Payne's death

Five people have been charged in connection with the death of One Direction ex-member Liam Payne in Argentina.

The 31-year-old died on October 16 after falling from a third-floor balcony of the Casa Sur hotel in Buenos Aires.

Three people, namely Payne’s friend, Roger Nores, the manager of the hotel, Gilda Martín, and the head of reception, Esteban Grassi, were charged with manslaughter, specifically the charge of negligent homicide.

The other two, Braian Paiz, a waiter at a restaurant in Puerto Madero, an affluent area of Buenos Aires, and Ezequiel Pereyra, an employee of the Casa Sur, were charged with supplying narcotics and detained.

Payne was allegedly seen being “dragged to his room” while unconscious moments before his fall.

Nores was accused of “abandoning [Payne] to his fate, knowing that he was incapable of caring for himself” and “having full knowledge of the state of intoxication, vulnerability and helplessness in which he found himself”.

According to the charges, Martín noticed the singer was “unable to stand due to the consumption of various substances,” and “allowed for Payne to be taken to his room moments before his death.”

Grassi is alleged to have “led a group of three people who dragged Payne to his room moments before his death”.

Judge Laura Bruniard, the head of the national criminal and correctional court No 34, said: “It was proven by the testimonies gathered by the prosecutor that Payne had a history of addiction” and an autopsy confirmed “the presence of cocaine and alcohol in large quantities.”

She said Martín and Grassi could be seen outside Payne’s hotel room minutes before he was found dead on the restaurant’s patio.

She concluded that “the three people who are being prosecuted [for manslaughter] have contributed, although not in a planned manner, to creating a risk that resulted in Payne’s death, whether by action or omission.”

Pereyra is accused of delivering cocaine to Payne on October 15 and 16, while Paiz is accused of delivering cocaine to the singer twice on October 14.

Those charged with culpable homicide face a sentence of up to five years in prison, while those charged with supplying narcotics face between four and 15 years in prison.