Five people have been indicted in the October death of Liam Payne, including the manager of the Buenos Aires hotel where the singer fell from a balcony. Three of them work for the CasaSur Palermo Hotel, Argentine prosecutors said. A toxology report showed the former One Direction singer had cocaine, alcohol, and a prescription antidepressant in his system when he died, per the New York Times, and the charges are connected to that finding. Payne was unconscious when he fell, officials said, suggesting his death was not suicide.
The manager, Gilda Martin; the hotel's chief receptionist, Esteban Grassi; and a friend of Payne's, Rogelio Nores, face a charge of negligent homicide for a professional, which calls for a prison sentence of one to five years upon conviction. The investigating judge, Laura Bruniard, said hotel footage showed that Payne was unable to care for himself. Prosecutors said the three should have kept the singer out of his room until he was given medical care. Bruniard said she didn't believe they wanted Payne to die, but said their actions had created that risk.
Another hotel employee, Ezequiel Pereyra, and a waiter elsewhere, Braian Paiz, are indicted on a charge of supplying Payne with narcotics. The drug charges could bring a sentence of four to 15 years in prison. The prosecutor's office said the judge has decided the case should go to trial. The lawyers for defendants can appeal that decision, the BBC reports. (Payne's former bandmates came together for his funeral.)