Former One Direction member Liam Payne dies at the age of 31
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Former One Direction star Liam Payne died at the age of 31 after falling off a balcony at the CasaSur Hotel in Bueno Aires, Argentina.
Former One Direction star Liam Payne died at the age of 31 on Wednesday, Oct. 16, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after falling off a balcony at the CasaSur Hotel, where he had been staying.
According to staff and BBC News, Payne and his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, had been in Argentina to see former bandmate Niall Horan and had been at his hotel for two or three days. Reports have revealed that Payne had been acting normally at Niall's concert. A fan spoke to BBC News and stated, “He was fine. Later people said he was either drunk or on drugs. But that wasn't the case at all. He talked to us, hugged us, and even made jokes."
Once Cassidy had left Argentina before Payne, he appeared to be acting erratically. Then, at around 5:00 pm, a call was made to emergency services by the hotel staff with a request to respond to a hotel guest who was, according to BBC News and other reports, “overwhelmed by drugs and alcohol" and "destroying his room."
Payne’s room was on the third floor and had a balcony above the interior courtyard. At around 5:07 pm, it was thought that he fell from his balcony. He was pronounced dead at the scene, with emergency services declaring that there was “no possibility of resuscitation.” due to his injuries being so severe. Payne had suffered multiple traumas, including both internal and external bleeding.
Recently, there have been revealed toxicology results finding traces of pink cocaine, cocaine, crack, and benzodiazepine in Payne's system at the time of his death. Yet, the post-mortem revealed that his death was primarily due to the injuries sustained after falling off the balcony.
The Buenos Aires police found Paynes' hotel room in “total disorder” after his death. A few minutes before falling off the balcony, hotel staff alerted emergency services, reporting in a 911 call that the singer had been “trashing the room,” per People News. Reports have stated that there were various items broken, including a TV, and other items were found with Payne's body in the internal courtyard, including a whiskey bottle, lighter, and a cellphone.
Payne had previously spoken out about being clean from drugs and keeping up his sobriety. Yet, there have been claims that the hotel staff was supplying Payne with drugs, leading him to fall off his sobriety.
Before Oct. 16, Payne was going through many controversies amid his breakup with his ex-fiance, Maya Henry. The week before Payne's death, Henry issued a cease-and-desist order to Payne after he repeatedly contacted her, according to People News.
Payne's former bandmates, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson, have spoken out about the devastation of his death. In their joint Instagram post, the former bandmates said, "We're devastated by Liam's passing. In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly. The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly. We love you, Liam. Louis, Zayn, Niall, and Harry.”
Additional news continues to come out about Payne's death, and the autopsy is still ongoing. As of now, Payne's body will remain in Argentina until the autopsy report is completely done.