(KTLA) – Officials in Argentina have released a cause of death for Liam Payne, the former One Direction member who died Wednesday at age 31.
Payne died from “multiple traumas” and “internal and external hemorrhage” after he fell from the balcony of a third-story room at the Casa Sur hotel in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires on Oct. 16, according to preliminary autopsy details made public by the country’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No. 14,
The case is being investigated as a “doubtful death,” according to protocols put in place by the prosecutor’s office. However, a media release from the office states that “everything indicates that the musician was alone when the fall occurred, and was going through some kind of outbreak due to substance abuse.”
Payne’s death is believed to have occurred at around 5:07 p.m. Wednesday. The prosecutor’s office said that minutes earlier, a 911 call was made asking for help with a guest “who was under the influence of drugs and alcohol and had destroyed some objects in the room.”
By the time emergency medics and police arrived, “Payne had already fallen from the balcony of his room and died on the spot due to the severity of his injuries,” the release explained.
Forensic medical staff from the Forensic Medical Corps within the Judicial Morgue performed the autopsy between 9:45 p.m. and 11:05 p.m. Wednesday.
“The cause of death of Liam James Payne determined macroscopically, has been polytrauma, internal and external hemorrhage,” the office revealed.
“The medical examiners clarified that ‘the requested complementary studies may confirm, rectify and/or complement the aforementioned macroscopic conclusions,’ and in this regard reported that histopathological, biochemical and toxicological studies were requested,” the prosecutor’s office said. “At this point, the analysis of the stomach contents, alcohol and toxins in the blood, vitreous humor, bile, nasal swab and urine for the determination of alcohol and toxins was required.”
The coroners noted Payne suffered 25 injuries causing internal and external hemorrhages “in the skull, thorax, abdomen and limbs,” including injuries to his head that would have been fatal on their own.
“Given the position in which the body was left and the injuries from the fall, it is presumed that Payne did not adopt a reflex posture to protect himself and that he could have fallen into a state of semi- or total unconsciousness,” prosecutors added.
Arriving investigators said they found what looked like alcohol and narcotics in Payne’s hotel room. Prosecutors are awaiting official expert confirmation on those substances. They also found “several destroyed objects and furniture.”
Three hotel workers and two women, who were with Payne in his hotel room hours before his death, were interviewed by the prosecutor’s office. The two women had already left the hotel before Payne’s death.
The prosecutor’s office also said that while it’s looking into the “circumstances” around Payne’s death, they’re also investigating “the possible involvement of third parties in the events prior to the victim’s death.”
The “Get Low” singer has been vocal about struggling with alcoholism, posting a video in July 2023 to his YouTube channel where he said he had been sober for six months after receiving treatment. Representatives for Payne did not immediately return emails and calls.
