Liam Payne appeared unconscious when he plummeted from balcony — and 2 women had been in room before death: autopsy
A newly released autopsy report for troubled former One Direction singer Liam Payne shows he may have been unconscious when he fatally fell from a Buenos Aires hotel balcony — and that two women had been in his room in the hours before his death.
The National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No. 16 reported the position of Payne’s body on the ground, as well as his injuries, indicated he “did not adopt a reflex posture to protect himself” and that he could have “fallen while in a state of semi or total unconsciousness,” the office revealed Thursday.
It also said all indications were that Payne was alone when he fell to his death from the third floor of CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires — and that the pop star had been “going through some kind of outbreak due to substance abuse” at the time, according to an official statement from the office translated from Spanish.
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The autopsy concluded the cause of death to be “polytrauma, internal and external hemorrhage,” noting that the cranial brain injuries alone would have been enough to cause death, he also suffered internal and external hemorrhages in the skull, thorax, abdomen and limbs, which “contributed to the mechanism of death,” the report reads.
The report also said that officials questioned “three hotel workers and two women who, in the hours prior, had been with the musician in his room, but had already left the hotel when the incident occurred.”
The report from officials also said: “the investigation is also aimed at determining the possible intervention of third parties in the events prior to the death of the victim.”
Though officials had initally said after the crooner’s death that he had “jumped,” the autopsy report said he had fallen and Communications Director for the Buenos Aires Security Ministry Pablo Policicchio told Page Six that investigators are still working to determine if it was an accident or intentional.
Police arrived at the hotel after receiving a 911 call just after 5 p.m. from the hotel manager saying there was an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” Policicchio said.
The manager said a guest was “overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol” and destroying their room.
Moments later, Payne’s body was found in the hotel’s inner courtyard after the manager reported hearing a loud noise from the area.
The British crooner fractured his skull and died instantly from “very serious injuries,” according to Buenos Aires Emergency Services Chief, Alberto Crescenti.
Shocking photos purportedly taken in the star’s hotel room in Argentina show drugs and alcohol lying around the room.
The images — verified by Argentina’s biggest newspaper, La Nacion — reportedly show a smashed television, a half-empty glass of what appeared to be champagne and foil and white powder that authorities will test to confirm suspicions that it could be cocaine.
There was also wax and burned foil in the bathtub, according to La Nacion, which said the images were verified by official sources involved in the death investigation.
Throughout his career, both while with One Direction and after the band’s split, Payne had gone to rehab at least twice for alcohol addiction — and previously opened up about how his addiction made him feel suicidal.
Payne sprang into stardom when he auditioned for “The X Factor” in 2010 when he was just 16. He was placed in the boy band One Direction, alongside Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson and the group became a global sensation.
The band’s split started in 2015 when Malik left the group in the middle of their world tour. One Direction went on an indefinite hiatus the following year.
Payne leaves behind a son, Bear, 7, with his ex, singer Cheryl Cole.
He has been dating influencer Kate Cassidy, 25, for two years.
Cassidy had been with the former boy band member in Argentina for a brief couple’s holiday, but left for Florida two days before his tragic death.
