Liam Payne death case: 5 indicted for manslaughter, supplying drugs to singer

The Argentinian police have indicted five people over the death of British singer Liam Payne who fell from a Buenos Aires hotel balcony in October after being heavily intoxicated with alcohol and drugs. 

Three of the five were charged with manslaughter and the other two with supplying the former One Direction pop star with illegal drugs, prosecutors said, identifying the suspects only by their initials.

The latter two have been taken into custody but the others have been allowed to remain free, the prosecutors said.

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Liam Payne's death

Payne died on October 16 after falling from the balcony of his third-floor room at the Casa Sur Hotel in the Argentine capital. His death at age 31 prompted a global outpouring of grief from family, former bandmates, fans, and others, with thousands gathering in cities around the world to offer their condolences.

The unnamed people who have been charged with manslaughter include a representative of Liam who was travelling with him, a woman managing the hotel where the singer was staying, and the head of its reception desk.

The ones charged with supplying Payne with drugs are a hotel employee and a waiter that Payne met elsewhere in the city, the prosecutors said.

According to investigations, Payne consumed cocaine, alcohol, and a prescription antidepressant before falling to his death. 

He had spoken publicly about struggling with substance abuse and coping with fame from an early age.

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Did Liam try to escape through the balcony?

Initial investigations suggested that the singer was apparently trying to move from the 3rd-floor balcony to the 2nd-floor balcony, with plans to jump down to the ground. 

Two days after his death, a hotel employee found a brown leather bag with a note that said "for Liam" on the 2nd-floor balcony below his room. The bad contained pills and a bottle of Jack Daniel's and was confirmed to be of Payne's. It seems he may have dropped the bag on the lower balcony before attempting to jump himself to escape.