Five people have been charged over the death of One Direction singer Liam Payne in Argentina, authorities there have said.
The 31-year-old star died on October 16 after falling from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires.
The hotel's manager, Gilda Martin, and its receptionist, Esteban Grassi, and Payne's friend Roger Nores have been charged with murder, the Argentine prosecutor's office said.
Ezequiel Pereyra – who also worked at the hotel – and Brian Paiz, a waiter, were charged with supplying drugs.
Under Argentina's legal system, the prosecutor's office gathers evidence and presents it to a judge, who must decide whether to proceed with a trial.
According to a statement issued by the prosecutor's office, Judge Laura Bruniard has decided to proceed to the next stage on Friday.
Defense attorneys can challenge that decision. If their appeals are unsuccessful, the trial phase begins.
In the court papers, Judge Bruniard listed the charges against the five suspects, referred to by their initials, as is customary in court papers at this stage of the trial.
- EDP hotel worker allegedly sold Liam Payne cocaine on 15 and 16 October
- Waiter BNP is accused of selling cocaine to Liam Payne twice on 14 October
- Payne's friend RLN is accused of manslaughter for allegedly “failing to fulfill his duty of care, help and assistance” to the singer after he “abandoned her and was lucky to know that she could not take care of herself and knew that [Payne] suffered from many drugs”
- Hotel manager GAM is accused of manslaughter for allegedly failing to stop Payne from being taken to his hotel room shortly before his death. According to court documents, given Payne's condition, the room's balcony was “a serious hazard” and the manager should have ensured Payne was kept in a safe place until medical help arrived.
- Senior receiver ERG is also charged with manslaughter for allegedly asking three people to “drag” Payne, who could not even stand up, to his room, instead of keeping him safe.
Judge Bruniard said he did not think Liam Payne's friend, hotel manager and receptionist had “planned or wanted Payne's death” but that their actions had caused a “danger” to his life.
If convicted, all three could face one to five years in prison.
The penalty for supplying drugs is very severe and ranges from four to 15 years in prison.
Judge Bruniard ordered that the two accused of supplying drugs be kept in custody.
They were summoned to appear in court within 24 working hours.
In November, the prosecutor's office said toxicology tests revealed traces of alcohol, cocaine and antidepressants in Payne's body.
An autopsy determined the cause of his death as “multiple trauma” and “internal and external bleeding”, as a result of a fall from a hotel balcony.
According to the prosecutor's office, medical reports also suggested that Payne may have been partially or completely unconscious.
The prosecutor's office said that this rule out that Payne did the act knowingly or voluntarily, and concluded that the singer did not know what he was doing and had no understanding of his actions.
Speaking to the American celebrity news channel TMZ after Payne's death, Roger Nores said he was a “best friend” of the singer and they had spent time together the day the star died.
She said Payne “seemed playful and happy” when he left her about an hour before the singer fell from the balcony.
After Payne's death, police found items in his hotel room and damaged furniture.
Hotel staff made two calls to emergency services saying they had a guest who had taken “a lot of drugs and alcohol” and was “throwing up the entire room,” the report previously said.
Payne became one of pop's biggest names after appearing on The X Factor and rose to fame with boy band One Direction in the 2010s before the group went on an undeclared hiatus in January 2016.
For the singer the funeral was held in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, last month.
Former bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik were among the mourners, along with Payne's girlfriend Kate Cassidy and former partner Cheryl, with whom he shares a son.
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