Five people have been charged with Liam Payne’s death.
Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office said that hotel manager Gilda Martin, receptionist Esteban Grassi (who made the 911 call just before Payne’s death), and the singer’s friend Rogelio “Roger” Nores have been charged with manslaughter, according to the BBC.
Two more hotel employees, Braian Paiz, and Ezequiel Pereyra, have been charged with giving drugs to the former One Direction member, who had previously gone to rehab to fight his addiction.
A judge stated that two of the five people charged are still in custody and must appear in court within 24 hours.
The news came after all five people appeared in court in mid-December.
According to the legal system in Buenos Aires, after being questioned, a judge decides whether the accused will be prosecuted, removed from the case, or if there is not enough evidence for either decision.
On October 16, the “Teardrops” singer fell to his death from the balcony of his third-floor room at the Casa Sur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was 31.
Although there were many theories about what could have happened, it was determined that the “Perfect” singer likely tried to climb off the balcony after allegedly being locked inside his room by employees for acting erratically in the lobby.
However, an autopsy report revealed that he passed out along the way and fell, causing a cranial fracture and internal and external bleeding.
A toxicology report later showed that the “Night Changes” singer had consumed multiple drugs and alcohol before his death, which may have caused him to faint. Cocaine, crack, a depressant, and pink cocaine — a recreational drug that mixes methamphetamine, ketamine, MDMA, and others — were found in his system.
On November 7, the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office announced in a press release obtained by Page Six that Nores, Paiz, and Pereyra were being charged in connection to Payne’s death.
Nores, who had taken on a manager-like role in the singer’s life, was accused of abandonment for allegedly not telling Payne’s family that he had relapsed.
The Argentine businessman also allegedly didn’t answer the phone when police called him about the singer’s death.
Although he has denied the charges, he could face a sentence of five to 15 years in prison.
Meanwhile, Paiz has also denied any wrongdoing, saying he only used drugs with the “X Factor” star but never gave him any.
Payne was buried on November 20 after a private funeral in the UK, which was attended by his former One Direction bandmates, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik.
