A preliminary autopsy has revealed the harrowing final moments of Liam Payne, the 31- year-old One Direction star who tragically died after falling from a third-floor balcony at the Casa Sur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 16, 2024.
Concerns for Liam's well-being had been raised earlier that day when hotel staff noticed him behaving 'erratically' in the lobby and called emergency services for help.
His body was discovered on an internal patio, and initial reports stated he had sustained "severe injuries which were incompatible with life".
The UK inquest, led by Dr Roberto Victor Cohen, has now confirmed that Liam's medical cause of death was 'polytrauma', a term referring to multiple traumatic injuries across several organ systems, as defined by the NHS, the Mirror reports.
These types of injuries are often the result of serious accidents like falls, vehicle collisions, or combat incidents. Details from the October preliminary autopsy indicated that Liam did not attempt to break his fall from the balcony, suggesting he may have been unconscious before the 40ft drop.
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Liam, a father of one whose tragic demise has been associated with a substance-induced psychotic episode, "did not adopt a reflexive posture to protect himself in the fall, so that, for the moment, it can be inferred that he may have fallen in a state of semi - or total unconsciousness," according to the report.
Forensic experts concluded that "the 25 injuries described in the autopsy are compatible with those caused by a fall from a height."
They also noted that Liam had no "defensive type" injuries and that the wounds were "vital and produced at the same time as each other", leading to the conclusion that "the intervention of third parties would be ruled out".
In November, findings from the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office indicated that traces of "alcohol, cocaine and prescription antidepressants" were found in Liam's system. Officials explained that suicide had been dismissed because "in the state he was in, he did not know what he was doing and could not understand it".
It was determined that Liam wasn't fully conscious or was "in a state of noticeable decrease or abolition of consciousness". The investigators stated: "For the prosecution, 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 in, he did not know what he was doing and could not understand it."
At the UK inquest today, it was revealed that Liam's body was formally identified "with the assistance of the funeral directors in Buckinghamshire".
Senior Coroner Crispin Butler stated: "Whilst there are ongoing investigations in Argentina into the circumstances of Liam's death, over which I have no legal jurisdiction, it is anticipated that procuring the relevant information to address particularly how Liam came by his death may take some time through the formal channel of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office."
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