Liam Payne, who shot to global fame with boy band One Direction, died at age 31 last month. Photo: AFP
BUENOS AIRES (AFP): 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 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 Oct16 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 a representative of the singer who was travelling with him, a woman managing the hotel where Payne died, and the head of its reception desk, they added.
The ones charged with supplying Payne with drugs are a hotel employee and a waiter that Payne met elsewhere in the city, the prosecutors said.
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.
