Former One Direction musician Liam Payne died due to multiple traumas and internal and external bleeding caused by a fall, Argentine prosecutors said on Thursday, revealing the first official results of the singer’s autopsy.
Payne, 31, who shot to global fame with boy band One Direction, was found dead Wednesday after he plunged from a third-floor hotel room balcony in Buenos Aires, triggering an outpouring of tributes from fans.
As fans and media swarmed the Casa Sur Hotel in the trendy Palermo neighbourhood of Argentina’s capital, forensics investigators worked inside on Thursday collecting evidence.
No signs of third party involvement: police
The prosecutors’ office said coroners had found 25 injuries compatible with those caused by a fall from height, including fatal head injuries, with internal and external bleeding.
According to the office, there were no signs of a third party being involved, though it said the incident was being investigated as a “suspicious” death and cited the likelihood that the singer had been taking alcohol and drugs.
“Everything indicates that the musician was alone when the fall occurred, and was going through some kind of episode due to substance abuse,” the prosecutors’ office said.
“City police who surveyed the scene found substances inside the room that at first glance — and pending confirmation from the experts — would be narcotics and alcoholic beverages, as well as several destroyed objects and furniture.”
The lack of defensive injuries on Payne’s hands indicated that he may have fallen into a state of unconsciousness, the public prosecutor said.
The Buenos Aires police said they found Payne’s hotel room “in complete disarray” with packs of the benzodiazepine clonazepam, as well as energy supplements and other over-the-counter drugs strewn about and “various items broken.”
Police said a whiskey bottle, lighter and cellphone were retrieved from the internal courtyard where Payne’s body was found.
Hotel manager notified police
Police said they had rushed to the hotel in response to an emergency call just after 5 p.m. local time Wednesday that had warned of an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
A hotel manager can be heard on a 911 call recording saying the hotel has “a guest who is overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol … He’s destroying the entire room and, well, we need you to send someone, please.”
The manager’s voice becomes more anxious as the call goes on, noting the room has a balcony.
“We need you to send someone urgently because, well, I don’t know if the guest’s life is at risk. He is in a room with a balcony. And, well, we are a little afraid that he will do something that will put his life at risk.”
Payne had attended former bandmate’s concert
Payne was in Argentina with his girlfriend, influencer Kate Cassidy, in the weeks before his death. The couple attended the concert of Payne’s former One Direction bandmate, Niall Horan, in Buenos Aires on Oct. 2, where Payne was filmed dancing and waving to fans. In an Oct. 14 TikTok, Cassidy revealed she had flown home early on her own.
Payne had a 7-year-old son, Bear Grey Payne, with his former girlfriend, the musician Cheryl, who was known as Cheryl Cole when she performed with Girls Aloud.
Payne was previously engaged to Maya Henry, from August 2020 to early 2022. Henry released a novel earlier this year about a relationship with a troubled pop star that she said was based on their relationship.
Over the last couple of weeks, Henry has raised allegations of abuse against Payne, alleging in a TikTok video and on a podcast that Payne was “manipulative” during their relationship and had continued to message and harass her and her mother after their breakup. Payne did not publicly respond to the allegations.
While details surrounding his death remain unclear, Payne had spoken publicly about his struggles with mental health and using alcohol to cope with the pressures of fame.
Payne had said that it took some time to adjust to life in the public eye.
“I don’t think you can ever deal with that. It’s all a bit crazy for us to see that people get in that sort of state of mind about us and what we do,” he said in a 2013 interview with the Associated Press, recounting an experience where a fan was in a state of shock upon meeting him.
