Hotel staff failed Payne, judge says, as five charged over death

Three people have been charged with manslaughter, and two others with drug supply, in connection with the death of Liam Payne, who was allegedly seen being "dragged to his room" while unconscious moments before he fell from his hotel balcony in Argentina earlier this year.

- Jessica Murray

The 31-year-old former One Direction star fell from the third floor of the CasaSur Palermo in Buenos Aires on 16 October.

Argentina's ministry of public prosecutions confirmed yesterday that three people had been charged with manslaughter under the charge of negligent homicide. These were Payne's friend Roger Nores; the manager of the hotel where he was staying, Gilda Martin; and the head of reception, Esteban Grassi.

Braian Paiz, a waiter at a restaurant in Puerto Madero, a luxury area of the Argentinian capital, and Ezequiel Pereyra, an employee of the CasaSur hotel, were charged with supplying narcotics, and both were detained.

Nores, described as Payne's friend and representative during his stay in Argentina, 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".

The charges state that Martin was present in the hotel lobby, where Payne was prior to his death, and that she noticed the singer was "unable to stand due to the consumption of various substances".

She "allowed for Payne to be taken to his room moments before his death", and that the balcony there "was a source of risk". The charges allege she should have kept him "safe in an area without sources of danger, in company and until medical care was provided for him".