Judge charges five people in connection with the death of Liam Payne

A judge in Argentina has signed-off on charges to proceed against five people connected to the tragic death of former One Direction pop star, Liam Payne.

Two of those charged were ordered preventive prison for having supplied Payne with drugs prior to his death. Autopsy reports found alcohol and cocaine in the 31-year-old singer’s system at the time of his death.

A judicial officer confirmed the judge’s decision, and added that one of the two people charged with preventive prison, which is a form of pre-trial detention, was an employee at the hotel in the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires, where Payne was staying.

The officer said the other person was a waiter Payne had met in a restaurant. Both suspects face charges of supply of drugs and are required to present themselves before the judge.

Three others were charged with manslaughter. A businessman who had accompanied Payne in Argentina during his trip and two managers of the hotel.

In November, prosecutors filed initial charges against three people, but did not reveal their names.

Payne, who was British, fell from his room’s balcony on the third-floor of his hotel in the upscale neighbourhood of Palermo.

His autopsy confirmed the cause of his death as external bleeding from multiple injuries sustained on impact, external bleeding and trauma.

Prosecutors also said that Payne’s toxicological exams showed traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescribed antidepressant in his system moments before his death.

The autopsy did also rule out self-harm and physical intervention of others as other potential causes of death. It added that the global sensation did not have the reflex of protecting himself as he fell, suggesting the singer may have been unconscious, warranting a potential accident.

The possibility of suicide was also ruled out by Argentinians prosecutors.

One Direction was among the most successful boy bands of recent times. It announced an indefinite hiatus in 2016 and Payne — like his former bandmates Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson — pursued a solo career.