Liam Payne’s Body to Be Flown Back to the U.K. Ahead of Funeral Almost 3 Weeks After His Death

Liam Payne will be laid to rest in his home country, and In Touch can confirm that the former One Direction member’s body will be flown back to the U.K. ahead of the funeral.

In Touch has learned that undertakers have transported Liam’s body from a Buenos Aires morgue to a British cemetery founded in the 1800s located in the northern part of the city. The move came after officials gave Liam’s dad, Geoff Payne permission to take his son’s body home.

The Argentinian outlet daily La Nacion reported that Geoff, 59, had met with prosecution chief Andres Madrea and been told that he could return home with Liam’s body two weeks after his death on October 16.

“All the documents are ready for the former One Direction singer to return to his homeland so a funeral can take place there next week,” the publication wrote. “When Geoff Payne reached Argentina on October 18 he was told the repatriation process could take between four and five days, but because of the circumstances surrounding his son’s death things took longer than expected.”

While prosecutors have yet to confirm the results of the toxicology and tissue tests, Geoff was told that repatriation could not occur until the tests had been completed.

Liam died at the age of 31 after he fell from a third-story hotel balcony in Buenos Aires. Authorities arrived at the CasaSur Palermo after they received a 911 call from a hotel staff member about an “aggressive man possibly under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”

However, the “What Makes You Beautiful” singer was pronounced dead at the scene after sustaining injuries that were “incompatible with life,” including a “fracture at the base of his skull.”

Liam and his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, had traveled to Argentina to watch his fellow former One Direction member Niall Horan perform on October 4. In a travel vlog posted, Kate, 25, revealed that she and Liam were only supposed to be in South America for a few days, but the trip had stretched to two weeks and she decided to return to the States before Liam.

On October 22, In Touch learned that the “Story of My Life” artist’s death could have been caused by high-purity drugs and specific substances may have had a different effect on him than the drugs he used in different countries. Traces of cocaine were found in Liam’s body at the time of death, but another white powder found in his room was deemed as “inconclusive.”

Forensic toxicologist Fernando Cardini spoke to Argentine TV channel Todo Noticias’ and said that “a very complicated mix of chemical substances” was found in Liam’s system.

“There was a situation in which a person consumed drugs, but being in a different country, perhaps it didn’t have the same concentration of drug that he bought,” Cardini explained. “Perhaps that got the better of him.”

While some members of the public wondered if Liam had possibly been pushed from his balcony, In Touch learned that forensic experts found no signs of self-defense before his death.

“Someone committing suicide, before falling, has the instinct of putting his hands out to protect himself,” Cardini said. “He died from the fall, but the combination of drugs was very important.”