Five people charged in death of former One Direction singer Liam Payne

Five people were charged in Argentina on Monday over the death of the late One Direction member Liam Payne, who died after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires earlier this year.

Payne, who rose to global fame as part of the boy band One Direction in 2010, died on Oct. 16 when he fell from the balcony of the Casa Sur Palermo hotel with trace amounts of alcohol and drugs in his system. He was 31 at the time.

The five individuals were not named, but were listed by initials and identified as the hotel manager, the hotel's head of reception, a waiter at one of the restaurants, and a fourth hotel employee. The fifth person was a friend of Payne's.

A judge on Monday approved the "negligent homicide" charges against the manager, receptionist, and friend of the late singer, according to NBC News. The other two were charged with drug crimes. 

The three main defendants allegedly showed "imprudence, negligence, lack of skill in their art or profession or failure to observe the regulations or duties in their charge [that caused] the death of another," according to prosecutors. 

The hotel manager allegedly saw Payne in the lobby and noticed his "state of health" and allowed Payne to be taken to his room despite his condition, and despite the fact that the room had a balcony. 

The reception manager also noticed Payne's state and did not keep him "safe in an area without sources of danger, in company and until he could be provided with medical care," prosecutors argued. The companion of Payne failed to "comply with his duties of care, assistance and aid that he had."

The other two employees were charged with supplying Payne with cocaine, "in exchange for money."

The charges come after prosecutors determined that Payne's death was not suicide by jumping off the balcony, but rather from a fall.

Payne is survived by his son named Bear, who was born in 2017 to Payne and singer Cheryl Cole.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.