A representative for Liam Payne has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the One Direction veteran's death in October, Argentine officials confirmed Monday.
The National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office of Argentina announced in a statement in Spanish that Judge Laura Graciela Bruniard prosecuted five people this Friday for their alleged participation in the death of the pop singer. Payne's representative (identified as “RLN”) and the manager and front desk manager of the Buenos Aires hotel where the British singer died were charged with manslaughter.
Another hotel employee and a waiter Payne met at a restaurant were charged with allegedly supplying the singer with narcotics.
Payne, an “X Factor” alum who was one-fifth of the global boy band sensation One Direction, died Oct. 16 after falling from a balcony at the Hotel CasaSur Palermo. He was 31 years old. Shortly after his death, authorities determined that the singer died from multiple traumas and internal and external bleeding caused by the fall.
Payne had traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system when he fell, officials announced in November. Prosecutors at the time said they were considering ruling out the possibility of suicide.
In Monday's announcement, prosecutors detailed the defendants' alleged role in Payne's death. The hotel employee (identified as “EDP”) and the waiter (“BNP”) allegedly supplied cocaine to Payne several times during his stay in Buenos Aires. Payne died two weeks after arriving in Argentina, where he attended an October 2 concert by his former bandmate Niall Horan.
According to Monday's announcement, Payne's manager “failed to fulfill his duties of care, assistance and assistance that he owed to” the singer. Prosecutors alleged that RLN abandoned the singer despite knowing he was “incapable of caring for himself” and having prior knowledge of Payne's struggle with addiction.
The prosecutor's office detailed an alleged incident in which Payne was taken to his third-floor bedroom by a group of three people before his death. The hotel manager (identified as “GAM”) and the hotel front desk manager (“ERG”), who supposedly led the group, should have kept Payne “in a safe area and without sources of danger, in company and until that could be attended to.” with medical care,” said the prosecutor.
Bruniard, the judge, said Monday that hotel managers “did not act maliciously” in connection with Payne's death “but have been reckless in allowing him to be taken to his room and taken there respectively.”
“They created a legally disapproved risk and Payne's death is the realization of that risk,” Bruniard said.
RLN is “responsible for the crime of involuntary manslaughter… given that he had assumed a position of guarantor” for Payne's family, Bruniard added.
Ultimately, Payne's representative and the hotel's managers “have contributed, although not in a planned manner, to creating a risk that resulted in Payne's death, whether by action or inaction,” according to Monday's statement.
The two people accused of supplying drugs to Payne before his death were remanded in custody. RLN and the two hotel managers were charged without pretrial detention, according to the prosecutor's office.
More than a month after Payne's death, his former bandmates, family and friends gathered for a funeral in England. Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Horan attended the ceremony in northwest London. Also in attendance were “X Factor” judges Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole (who shares a young son with Payne), and his girlfriend Kate Cassidy.
Although Payne is best known for his work with One Direction, he also pursued a solo career after the boy band went on hiatus in 2016. As a solo artist, he released the songs “Strip That Down,” “Bedroom Floor,” and “Teardrops,” and formed a team. with artists like Quavo, Ed Sheeran and Charlie Puth.
Payne was also open about his struggle with mental health and addiction. In a YouTube vlog shared in 2023, he revealed that he was six months sober.
Times staff writer Nardine Saad contributed to this report.
