According to sources, five people have been charged in relation to Liam Payne’s killing

Five individuals have been charged in connection with the death of One Direction singer Liam Payne in Argentina, according to local media reports.

The 31-year-old star died on October 16 after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires.

The National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office of Argentina announced charges of manslaughter against hotel manager Gilda Martin, hotel employee Esteban Grassi, and Payne’s friend Roger Nores. Additionally, hotel workers Braian Paiz and Ezequiel Pereyra have been charged with supplying drugs. A judge has ordered that two of the accused be remanded in custody, though their names have not been disclosed. They are required to appear in court within 24 working hours, according to Infobae.

The BBC has reached out to the prosecutor’s office for comment.

Argentinian authorities have been investigating Payne’s final days at the CasaSur hotel. Initially, in November, three people were charged over his death, but their names were not released at the time.

Roger Nores, in an interview with US celebrity news outlet TMZ, described himself as a “very good friend” of Payne, recounting that they spent time together on the day of his death. Nores mentioned that Payne “seemed playful and happy” when he left him about an hour before the fall.

Following Payne’s death, police found substances in his hotel room, along with damaged objects and furniture. Hotel staff had previously made two emergency calls reporting a guest who had taken “too many drugs and alcohol” and was “trashing the entire room.” Toxicology tests revealed traces of alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant in Payne’s body. A post-mortem examination determined his cause of death as “multiple trauma” and “internal and external haemorrhage” from the fall.

Medical reports suggested Payne may have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness, ruling out the possibility of a conscious or voluntary act. The prosecutor’s office concluded that Payne did not know what he was doing and had no comprehension of his actions at the time.

Liam Payne rose to fame with One Direction after appearing on The X Factor and became a prominent figure in pop music during the 2010s before the band went on an indefinite hiatus in January 2016.

His funeral was held in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, last month, attended by his former bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and Zayn Malik, as well as his girlfriend Kate Cassidy and his former partner Cheryl, with whom he shares a son.