Five people have been charged in connection with the death of One Direction singer Liam Payne in Argentina, local media reported.
download (41).jpeg
The 31-year-old star died on October 16 after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires.
Hotel manager Gilda Martin and hotel employee Esteban Grassi, as well as Roger Nores, who was apparently a friend of Payne's, were charged with felony murder, the National Criminal Prosecutor's Office said and Correctional of Argentina.
Brian Paiz and Ezequiel Pereyra - who both allegedly worked at the hotel - were charged with drug supply.
According to Argentine news site Infobae, a judge ordered that two of the five accused be held in custody. The couple, whose names have not been released, were summoned to court within 24 hours, Infobae added.
The BBC has contacted the prosecutor's office for comment.
Argentine authorities are investigating Payne's final days at the CasaSur hotel.
In November it was announced that three people had been charged in connection with his death, but their names were not released at the time.
Speaking to US outlet TMZ after Payne's death, Roger Nores said he was a "very good friend" of the singer and that they had spent 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 drugs in his hotel room and damaged items and furniture.
Hotel staff had called emergency services twice to say they had a guest who had taken "a lot of drugs and alcohol" and was "dissolving the whole room," as previously reported.
Liam Payne's girlfriend says Christmas is a "time of grief and sadness"
Zayn Malik pays tribute to Liam Payne's birthplace
What we know about Liam Payne's death
In November, the district attorney's office said toxicology tests found traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in Payne's body.
The autopsy determined that the cause of his death was "multiple trauma" and "internal and external bleeding," after falling from a hotel balcony. According to the prosecution, medical reports also suggested that Payne may have fallen into a semi- or fully unconscious state.
The Crown Prosecution Service said this ruled out the possibility of a conscious or deliberate act by Payne and that they concluded that the singer did not know what he was doing and did not understand his actions.
Payne became one of the biggest names in pop after appearing on The X Factor and rose to fame with boy band One Direction in the 2010s before the band went on an indefinite hiatus in January 2016.
The singer's 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.
[attachment deleted by admin]