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Agence France-Presse

Five people have been indicted in Argentina over the death of British singer Liam Payne, who fell from a Buenos Aires hotel balcony in October after consuming alcohol and drugs, prosecutors said on Monday.
Three of the five were charged with manslaughter and the other two with supplying the former One Direction pop star with illegal drugs, prosecutors said, identifying the suspects only by their initials.
The latter two have been taken into custody but the others have been allowed to remain free, the prosecutors said.
Payne died on October 16 after falling from the balcony of his third-floor room at the Casa Sur Hotel in the Argentine capital.

His death at age 31 prompted a global outpouring of grief from family, former bandmates, fans and others, with thousands gathering in cities around the world to offer their condolences.
The unnamed people charged with manslaughter are Payne’s manager who was travelling with him, a woman managing the hotel where Payne died, and the head of its reception desk, they added. They face five years in prison if convicted.
The ones charged with supplying Payne with drugs are a hotel employee and a waiter who Payne met elsewhere in the city, the prosecutors said. They face 15 years in prison.
Payne consumed cocaine, alcohol and a prescription antidepressant before falling to his death, Argentine prosecutors said last month.
He had spoken publicly about struggling with substance abuse and coping with fame from an early age.
“Taking Payne up to his room in the state he was in was to put his life at risk,” the judge said in her decision, which was released with the prosecutor’s statement. “It was obvious that he was vulnerable.”

Payne allegedly bought cocaine at least four times from the hotel employee and waiter over a three-day period.
Footage from the lobby of the Casa Sur hotel in the upmarket Palermo neighbourhood showed that minutes before Payne’s death on October 16 he was seen unconscious and being carried up to his room by three people.
The hotel receptionist headed the group, and was then seen with the hotel manager in the hallway outside Payne’s room, according to the statement.
“Payne’s consciousness was altered and there was a balcony in the room. The proper thing to do was to leave him in a safe place and in company until a doctor arrived,” the judge said.
She added that evidence showed that Payne attempted to leave his room through the balcony but due to the state he was in he fell.
Payne’s manager, identified only by his initials “RLN”, left the hotel less than an hour before the fall. The judge argued that he should not have entrusted the hotel employees with Payne’s well-being.
The judge barred the manager, who is a US citizen, from leaving Argentina.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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Argentina

Liam Payne in 2019. File photo:  AFP

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A floral tribute for Liam Payne. Photo: Reuters

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Three face manslaughter charges, while two are accused of supplying the British singer with illegal drugs


Three face manslaughter charges, while two are accused of supplying the British singer with illegal drugs.


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