Liam Payne died of multiple traumas, post-mortem examination finds

Published 4:02 pm Thursday, October 17, 2024

BUENOS AIRES — Former One Direction member Liam Payne died of multiple traumas and “internal and external hemorrhage,” as a result of a fall from the balcony of a hotel’s third-floor, a post-mortem examination report said on Thursday.

A press release from Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No 16 said it would be investigating the incident as an “inconclusive death” after the conclusions of the report.

Payne’s family told the PA news agency in a statement, issued via a spokeswoman, that they were “heartbroken” and added: “Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul.”

The prosecutor’s office said five witnesses were questioned in order to reconstruct what happened on Wednesday at the CasaSur Hotel in the Palermo area of Buenos Aires. Reports say staff at the hotel made two calls to emergency services, with audio revealing a staff member had asked for assistance for a guest who was “intoxicated by drugs and alcohol.”

Police officers and the emergency services found Payne dead at the scene and his body was transferred to the judicial morgue. The prosecutor’s office indicated the musician was alone when the fall occurred and said he appeared to be “going through some kind of outbreak due to substance abuse.”

Forensic experts said no injuries were observed that would suggest the intervention of third parties, although “the investigation is also aimed at determining the possible intervention of third parties in the events prior to his death.”

Police in the Argentinian capital previously said the music star’s hotel room had been “in complete disarray” with “various items broken.” They added that a whiskey bottle, lighter and mobile phone had been retrieved from the internal hotel courtyard where Payne’s body was found.