According to the police in Argentina, five persons have been charged in relation to One Direction singer Liam Payne's death.
The 31-year-old celebrity passed away on October 16th, following a fall from a Buenos Aires hotel's third-floor balcony.
According to the prosecutor's office in Argentina, Payne's friend Roger Nores, the hotel's manager Gilda Martin, and its receptionist Esteban Grassi have all been charged with manslaughter. Braian Paiz, a server, and Ezequiel Pereyra, who also worked at the hotel, are accused of selling drugs.
In Argentina, the prosecutor's office collected evidence and offered it to the judge, who must determine whether to hold a trial. Judge Laura Bruniard already decided to move on to the next phase on Friday, according to a statement issued by the prosecutor's office.
The attorneys for the defendants have the right to appeal that ruling. The trial phase begins if their appeals are denied.
As is customary in court documents at this point in the proceedings, Judge Bruniard outlined the charges against the five accused, who are identified by their initials.
• Hotel employee EDP is suspected of having sold Liam Payne cocaine on 15 and 16 October
• Waiter BNP is also suspected of having sold cocaine to Liam Payne twice on 14 October
• Payne's friend RLN is suspected of manslaughter for allegedly "failing to fulfil his duties of care, assistance and help" towards the singer after having "abandoned him to his luck knowing that he was incapable of fending for himself and knowing that he [Payne] suffered from multiple addictions"
• Hotel Manager GAM is suspected of manslaughter for allegedly failing to stop Payne from being taken to his hotel room moments before his death. According to the court papers, given Payne's state, the room's balcony posed a "serious threat" and the manager should have ensured Payne was kept in a safe place until medical help arrived
• Chief receptionist ERG is also suspected of manslaughter for allegedly asking three people to "drag" Payne, who could not stand up, to his room, instead of keeping him safe.
Judge Bruniard stated that she did not believe the hotel manager, the receptionist, or Liam Payne's friend "had planned or wanted the death of Payne," but rather that their conduct had put his life at "risk."
The three could receive prison terms ranging from one to five years if proven guilty. Drug supply has a harsher penalty, with a four- to 15-year jail sentence.
The two accused of supplying the drugs have been ordered to remain in detention on remand by Judge Bruniard. They have been called upon to show up within twenty-four hours. Braian Paiz's attorney, Fernando Madeo Facente, said that he had counselled his client against turning himself in.
According to him, Braian Paiz did not present a flight risk and had not obstructed the inquiry in any kind. On the contrary, he had voluntarily turned over his cell phone, which contained conversations with Liam Payne, to the police.
The attorney said, Braian Paiz's pre-trial imprisonment would be excessive and totally unneeded. Additionally, he contended that the prosecution had overreached itself in accusing his client of supplying drugs to Payne.
Payne and his client had spent time together "during which they talked and did a lot of things, in private," according to Mr. Madeo Facente "and one of those things they did was to consume drugs," However, he maintained that there had been no financial exchange and that any claims to the contrary were "completely false" and unsupported by any proof. Articles in the Argentine media that referred to his client as "Liam Payne's dealer" were also strongly denied by him.
According to the prosecutor's office, Payne's body contained residues of cocaine, alcohol, and a prescription antidepressant, according to toxicology tests conducted in November. His cause of death from the fall from the hotel balcony was identified as "multiple trauma" and "internal and external haemorrhage" by a post-mortem examination.
Medical reports also indicated that Payne might have lapsed into a semi- or completely unconscious state, according to the prosecutor's office. This disproved the notion that Payne did it voluntarily or consciously, and they came to the conclusion that the singer lacked understanding of his conduct.
Following Payne's passing, Roger Nores said that he was a "very good friend" of the singer and that they had spent time together on the day of the star's passing.
About an hour before the musician went from the balcony, he claimed that Payne "seemed playful and happy" when he left him. Police discovered drugs, broken items, and destroyed furniture in Payne's hotel room after he passed away. It was earlier reported that hotel employees had called emergency services twice to report a guest who had consumed "too many drugs and alcohol" and was "trashing the entire room."
After making an appearance on The X Factor and becoming well-known with the boyband One Direction in the 2010s before the band took an indefinite hiatus in January 2016, Payne became one of the most identifiable names in mainstream culture.
Last month, the singer's burial took place in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. In addition to Payne's fiancée Kate Cassidy and his ex-partner Cheryl, with whom he has a kid, the mourners included his former bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and Zayn Malik.
