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One Direction alum Liam Payne died at 31 years old on October 16, 2024. Though a preliminary autopsy was done the day after his passing, more details about the singer’s cause of death were later revealed in the complete autopsy, which was released on November 7, 2024.
How Did Liam Payne Die?
Liam died when he fell off a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he checked in three days prior, In Touch confirmed. Witnesses told TMZ that the “Strip That Down” singer had been acting “erratic” in the hotel’s lobby earlier that day and claimed that he “smashed his laptop and had to be carried back to his room.”
A 911 call was received at 5:04 p.m., but authorities arrived at the hotel to find Liam dead in the interior courtyard, In Touch learned. “There was no possibility of resuscitating him,” authorities said. “He had extremely severe injuries that were incompatible with life due to the fall.”
Local authorities also confirmed that Liam “jumped from the balcony of his room,” according to the Associated Press. According to an audio recording of the 911 call obtained via local media by Telemundo, a hotel staff member claimed that an unidentified guest had “overindulged on drugs and alcohol,” adding, “When he is conscious he breaks, he is breaking the whole room. Well, we need you to send someone, please.”
Liam arrived in Argentina with girlfriend Kate Cassidy on September 30, 2024. They attended his former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan’s concert on October 2, with video footage from the evening showing the couple dancing to Niall’s music and interacting with fans. Kate left the South American country on October 14, leaving Liam alone, In Touch learned.
What Was Liam Payne’s Official Cause of Death?
Liam’s official toxicology report was released on November 7, 2024, and revealed that “in the period of at least his last 72 hours, [he] only had traces in his body of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant,” according to a press release by the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No. 14. Officials reached this conclusion after analyzing his “urine, blood and vitreous humor.”
Judicial Morgue director Maffia Bizzozero and forensic doctor Roberto Victor Cohen “concluded that Payne’s death occurred due to ‘multiple trauma’ and ‘a hemorrhage, internal and external,’ as a result of the fall that the musician suffered.”
The release also said that “all the injuries that Payne presented were compatible with those caused by a fall from a height and that self-harm of any kind was ruled out,” as was the “physical intervention of third parties.” Since Liam “did not adopt a reflex posture to protect himself during the fall,” it “can be inferred that he could have fallen into a state of semi or total unconsciousness,” according to the autopsy.
“This situation would also rule out the possibility of a conscious or voluntary act on the part of the victim, since, in the state he was going through, he did not know what he was doing nor could he understand it,” officials added.
Prior to the full autopsy being released, Buenos Aires emergency services chief Alberto Crescenti confirmed on October 17, 2024, that Liam had “a fracture in the base of his skull [and] extremely serious injuries,” which led to his immediate death. Additionally, a preliminary autopsy was completed that day, with forensic pathologists Santiago Maffia Bizzozero and Victor Roberto Cohen concluding that the father of one had “internal and external hemorrhaging” from his multiple injuries.
A partial autopsy and toxicology report later revealed that Liam had multiple drugs in his system at the time of his death, sources told ABC News on October 21, 2024. This included “pink cocaine” — a recreational drug typically mixing methamphetamine, ketamine and MDMA — as well as cocaine, benzodiazepine and crack, sources said. An aluminum pipe was also reportedly found in Liam’s hotel room.
Liam Payne’s Past Drug Use and Suicidal Thoughts
The “Teardrops” singer admitted in 2019 that, during the height of One Direction’s fame, his days were filled with “booze and pills” and he struggled with “moments of suicidal ideation.”
“It was fun, we had an absolute blast, but there were certain parts of it where it just got a little bit toxic,” he told Men’s Health Australia.
However, Liam said in June 2023 that he was six months sober after spending 100 days in rehab.
“I just kind of feel like I’ve got more of a grip on life and everything that was getting away from me … I just feel like I’ve got more of a handle on it,” he revealed in a YouTube video at the time. “I just needed to take a little bit of time out for myself actually because I kind of became somebody who I didn’t really recognize anymore. And I’m sure you guys didn’t either. I was in bad shape up until that point and I was really happy to kind of put a stopper to life and work.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
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