BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — An Argentine court has indicted five individuals in connection with the death of Liam Payne, a former member of One Direction, and two have been remanded in custody for allegedly supplying him with drugs.
A judicial official confirmed the judge’s ruling on Monday, stating that one of those held in pre-trial detention was a hotel employee at the Buenos Aires establishment where Payne stayed before his death after a fall from his balcony in October.
The official identified the other detainee as a waiter Payne encountered at a restaurant. The official, who requested anonymity, stated that both face drug-supply charges and must appear before the judge.
The judge also charged three others with manslaughter: a businessman who was with Payne in Argentina, and two hotel managers. These individuals were not remanded in custody.
In November, prosecutors filed charges against three individuals, though their identities were not disclosed at that time.
Payne fell from his third-floor hotel balcony in the upscale Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. His autopsy attributed his death to multiple injuries and external bleeding.
Prosecutors revealed that Payne’s toxicology report indicated the presence of “traces of alcohol, cocaine, and a prescribed antidepressant” in his system before his death.
The autopsy indicated that Payne’s injuries were not self-inflicted or caused by others. The report also noted an absence of defensive reflexes during the fall, suggesting possible unconsciousness.
Argentine prosecutors have ruled out suicide as a cause of Payne’s death.
One Direction was one of the most successful boy bands in recent history. The group announced an indefinite hiatus in 2016, and Payne, along with Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson, pursued solo careers.