5 charged in Liam Payne's death; friend and hotel workers accused of negligent homicide

One Direction singer Liam Payne, incapacitated by "consumption of various substances," couldn't maintain his balance in a hotel lobby before he needlessly fell to his death, Argentine prosecutors said Monday.

Five people — a friend of Payne's and four hotel employees — have been charged in connection with Payne's fatal fall at the Casa Sur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires on Oct. 16, officials said.

A judge approved charges against Payne's companion, the hotel's manager and its head of reception. All three were accused of "negligent homicide," according to prosecutors.

Those defendants showed "imprudence, negligence, lack of skill in their art or profession or failure to observe the regulations or duties in their charge [that caused] the death of another," the prosecution said.

Two other hotel employees were also charged with furnishing drugs to Payne.

The hotel manager — identified by the initials GAM — was in the lobby and "noticed the state of health" of Payne, "who was unable to stand due to the consumption of various substances," the prosecution statement said.

The hotel manager "allowed, at least by omission, for Payne to be taken to his room moments before his death," and Room 310 had a "balcony that, given the detailed situation, was a source of risk," it said.

Floral tributes for One Direction singer Liam Payne in Wolverhampton, England, on Nov. 13.Cameron Smith / Getty Images

The reception manager, identified by the initials ERG, also witnessed Payne's vulnerable state and should have kept "him safe in an area without sources of danger, in company and until he could be provided with medical care," the prosecution said.

Payne had a personal representative traveling with him, a companion called RLN, who prosecutors said is "criminally responsible" for Payne's death by failing "to comply with his duties of care, assistance and aid that he had."

A waiter, identified only as BNP, and another hotel worker, called EDP, were accused of supplying "cocaine in exchange for money" to Payne.