Five people have now been charged in connection with the death of Liam Payne, including his ‘close friend’.
The One Direction star died at the age of 31 in October, having fallen from a third-floor balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The singer had been staying at the CasaSur Palermo hotel with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, who’d returned to the US two days before the tragedy occurred.
An investigation into the circumstances of Payne’s death is ongoing, and local press reports that five people have now been charged, allegedly including his “close friend” Rogelio ‘Roger’ Nores.
According to local newspaper Infobae, the Argentinian businessman, who last saw Payne less than an hour before his fatal fall, is among three charged with manslaughter, along with hotel chief receptionist Esteban Grassi and head of security Gilda Martin.
Nores claimed to have left the hotel 40 minutes before Payne died, and has denied any involvement in the tragedy.
The trio are reportedly not being held in custody but have been banned from leaving Argentina.
Braian Paiz, a waiter who admitted to using drugs, including cocaine, with the singer in the days leading up to his death, has been charged with supplying narcotics for payment while CasaSur employee Ezequiel Pereyra has also been charged with supplying drugs.
Paiz appeared on local TV following Payne’s death, where he admitted to taking drugs with the star but denied supplying Payne with any narcotics or accepting any money from him.
The other man has not yet commented publicly since being placed under formal investigation.
Payne tragically died at the scene after suffering catastrophic head injuries and “internal and external hemorrhaging” as a result of the fall.
The hotel manager had called the emergency services after Payne allegedly began behaving erratically, and toxicology tests showed he had “multiple substances” in his system at the time of his death.
Payne was laid to rest on November 20 in the UK, in a funeral attended by many of his celebrity friends including his One Direction bandmates, as well as his ex-girlfriend Cheryl and the seven-year-old son they’d shared, called Bear.
The investigation into Payne’s death is ongoing.
