Five people charged in connection with death of Liam Payne

Five people have been charged in connection with death of Liam Payne following the One Direction singer's death at 31.

Payne died after falling from the third floor of his Buenos Aires hotel balcony. The singer was in Argentina watching Niall Horan on his worldwide tour, and died on 16 October.

The news that five have been charged was first reported by Argentinian newspapers Clarin and Infobae, and has been confirmed by the Argentinian Public Prosecutor's Office.

Two of the individuals, a hotel employee and a waiter, were charged due to their suspected role in supplying the singer with cocaine.

The hotel employee is accused of having done so on two separate days including the day of his death, and the waiter twice on 14 October.

A chief receptionist is suspected of manslaughter after allegedly asking three people to ‘drag’ Payne to his hotel room, where he later fell from the balcony.

Meanwhile, a hotel manager is also suspected of manslaughter. Court documents state that the balcony was a ‘serious threat’, and that the manager should have ensured he was taken to a safe place until medical assistance arrived.

Finally, a friend of Payne’s has reportedly been charged with manslaughter due to ‘failing to fulfil his duties of care, assistance and help’.

The man is accused of having 'abandoned him to his luck knowing that he was incapable of fending for himself and knowing that [Payne] suffered from multiple addictions'.

The judge presiding over the charges, Laura Bruniard, said that she did not believe the three charged with manslaughter intentionally ‘planned or wanted the death of Payne’.

She did state however that their alleged actions had led to a ‘risk’ to his life.

A toxicology report from November states that when Payne died, a mixture of cocaine, alcohol and anti-depressants were found in his blood.

The singer’s death was international news, due in part to Payne’s status as a former member of One Direction.

His fellow band members released a joint statement, in which they said: “We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing… For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us.

“We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam.”

Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson all attended Payne’s funeral, which was also attended by Simon Cowell and his former partner Cheryl Tweedy.

Payne left behind a seven-year-old son, Bear, who he shared with Cheryl.

Following his death she released a statement on Instagram saying: “As I try to navigate this earth-shattering event, and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time, I’d like to kindly remind everyone that we have lost a human being.

“Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our 7-year-old son.

“A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again.

“What is troubling my spirit the most is that one day Bear will have access to the abhorrent reports and media exploitation we have seen in the past two days.

“It is breaking my heart further that I cannot protect him from that in his future.”