17 October 2024
BUENOS AIRES — Former One Direction musician Liam Payne died due to multiple traumas and internal and external bleeding caused by a fall Wednesday, an Argentine prosecutors’ office 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 after he plunged from a third-floor hotel room balcony in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, Oct. 16, triggering an outpouring of tributes from fans.
As news emerged of the 31-year-old English singer’s death, fans of one of the world’s biggest-selling boy bands gathered outside the hotel in the Argentinian capital’s leafy Palermo neighborhood to sing his songs and celebrate his life.
Police said in a statement they had been called to the CasaSur hotel after being notified of an “aggressive man who could be under the effects of drugs and alcohol.”
When they arrived, the hotel manager reported he had heard a loud noise from the inner courtyard and the police found that a man had fallen from the balcony of his room, the statement said.
In audio obtained from the Buenos Aires security ministry, a worker can be heard asking for police help.
“When he is conscious he is destroying the entire room and we need you to send someone,” the worker said, adding that the guest’s life may be at risk because the room had a balcony.
One Direction found global success after Simon Cowell brought together Payne, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson on Britain’s X Factor talent show in 2010.
They went on to sell 70 million records, with six top 10 hits on Billboard’s Hot 100, including “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Story of My Life” and “Live While We’re Young.” Payne’s co-writing credits included “Story of My Life” and “Night Changes.”
The band announced an “indefinite hiatus” in 2016, leaving its members to pursue solo careers. Payne’s last single was “Teardrop,” released in March this year.
Payne’s family said they were “heartbroken.”
“Liam will live forever in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul,” they said in a statement.
While details surrounding his death remained unclear, Payne had spoken publicly about his struggles with mental health and using alcohol to cope with the pressures of fame.
“Doing a show to however many thousands of people, then being stuck by yourself in a country where you can’t go out anywhere — what else are you going to do? The minibar is always there,” he told the Guardian newspaper in 2019.
Very complicated
Fans who held a vigil in Argentina said they were shocked.
“I feel like it’s like a dream, like I’m going to sleep now and tomorrow it’s all going to be a lie…I think it’s going to take me a while to accept all this, it’s very complicated,” Micaela Ibertis told Reuters.
Violeta Antier said she had seen Payne recently at a Niall Horan concert: “He was there, I saw him. He was ok.”
Payne first auditioned for the X Factor in 2008 when he was 14, and was told by music mogul Cowell to return when he was older.
“I always knew that with confidence he would be a valuable member of this band, so I had no hesitation in bringing him back,” he said.
American singer-songwriter Charlie Puth, one of many pop stars Payne collaborated with during his career, said on Instagram: “I am in shock right now. Liam was always so kind to me.”
Payne teamed up with Rita Ora on the 2018 song “For You” and released his first studio album LP1 in 2019.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Payne’s One Direction and solo career helped garner a fortune of some $70 million.
He had a son named Bear with Girls Aloud singer and British TV personality Cheryl, seven years after she helped bestow fame on him when she was ajudging panel member on The X Factor.
Last year, Payne published a video to fans on his YouTube channel in which he spoke about his family, making new art and performing again after having given up alcohol. He thanked supporters for sticking with him through difficult times.
Earlier on Wednesday, Payne posted on Snapchat about his trip in Argentina, talking about riding horses, playing polo and looking forward to returning home.
“It’s a lovely day here in Argentina,” he said in the video.
Room in disarray
Argentine police found Payne’s hotel room in Buenos Aires in “total disorder” in a search after his death, the authority said in a statement on Thursday, with various things broken and medications scattered around.
The city police said in a statement that in the atrium of the hotel where Payne had fallen they had found a bottle of whiskey, a lighter and a cell phone. They said they had taken finger prints from those.
In the room of the luxury hotel in the trendy Palermo district of the city, the police said they found over-the-counter medications, energy packs and anxiety drug Clonazepam.
“Upon entering, total disorder was observed, with various elements broken,” the police said in a statement, adding they had taken more fingerprints and other evidence to be analyzed in the labs, as well as a notebook and passport.
“The balcony area was inspected in order to establish access to it,” the police force added.
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