Five people have been charged in connection with the death of former One Direction star Liam Payne in Argentina, the country’s prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Monday.
The British singer fell to his death from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires in October. He was 31.
Payne’s manager, as well as the hotel’s manager and its head of reception, have been charged with manslaughter, the prosecutor’s office said. If convicted, they face up to five years in prison, according to Reuters.
A hotel employee and a local waiter have also been charged with supplying Payne with cocaine during his stay, and the judge has ordered them to be jailed ahead of their trial. They could face up to 15 years in prison, Reuters reported.
He had spoken openly about his struggles with substance abuse and his mental health. In the summer of 2023, Payne said he was marking six months of sobriety after completing treatment in a US facility. Payne’s tour was set to kick off in South America in September of that year, but he had to postpone the scheduled dates after suffering a kidney infection.
Payne’s death shocked the music world. He rocketed to global stardom as part of One Direction, one of Britain’s biggest ever boybands which was created on the British X Factor in 2010. The group, which included members Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik, announced an “indefinite hiatus” in 2016.