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The former member of One Direction passed away on October 16 at the age of 31 from injuries he received in a fatal fall from a third-story balcony at the Casa Sur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, according to an early autopsy released by Argentine authorities. Toxicology tests are now providing more insight into his last hours.
According to a press release translated from Spanish issued by Argentina's public prosecutor on Nov. 7, the investigation concluded that Payne only had traces of polydrug use in his system. Alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant were found in his body at the time of his death, according to tests done on his urine, blood, and eyes.
According to authorities, his family has already been informed of the toxicology results.
Because there were no indications of self-defense, officials also came to the conclusion that Liam was probably not completely conscious when he fell.
This situation would also rule out the possibility of a conscious or voluntary act on the part of the victim, the authorities stated in Spanish, since, in the state he was in, he did not know what he was doing nor could he understand it.
According to the preliminary autopsy, Liam suffered 25 injuries that were appropriate for a fall from that height.
While internal and external hemorrhages in the skull, thorax, abdomen, and limbs contributed to the mechanism of death, head injuries were sufficient to cause death.
Liam's injuries were so serious, according to Buenos Aires emergency services chief Alberto Crescenti, that the team could do absolutely nothing.
There was no resuscitation because it was confirmed that he had died, he said. The whole body had very serious injuries.
According to Office No. 14 of the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor, they discovered substances in Liam's room that at first glance might have been alcohol and drugs. Additionally, several destroyed objects and furniture were discovered in the hotel room by investigators.
A staff member at the Casa Sur Palermo Hotel, identifying himself as the head of reception, had called the police shortly before he died to report the destructive behavior of a hotel guest.
The caller told the police operator, We have a guest who is overindulged in drugs and alcohol, according to a transcription of the call that Telemundo was able to obtain from local media in Argentina. Well, when he is conscious, he breaks—he is breaking the whole room.
While he did not mention Liam by name, he expressed concern for the guest's safety, saying, We need someone to be sent to us urgently, because—well, I don't know if he is at risk. The guest is in a room that has a balcony, and we are a little afraid that he might do something life- threatening.
Argentina prosecutors announced Nov. 7 that three people had been charged in his death case for crimes of abandonment of a person followed by death, supply, and facilitation of narcotics.
The Teardrops singer had been in Argentina for a vacation with girlfriend Kate Cassidy—who had left for Florida on Oct. 12—during which they watched former bandmate Niall Horan perform in Buenos Aires on Oct. 2.
