Tragic One Direction star Liam Payne could have been suffering the effects of a mind-bending drug when he fell to his death, police have said.
The 31-year-old singer plunged from the third floor balcony of his hotel' in Argentina after reports he had been acting "erratically." Police in Buenos Aires have now claimed they are investigating a theory that Liam was high on a potent substance known as Cristal.
The drug can cause extreme highs and extreme lows to users and make them aggressive.
Cops told TMZ that Liam's behaviour sounded consistent of Cristal users but they have not confirmed the drug was present in the room. The findings of test results on narcotics and medications recovered have yet to be recorded in full.
The hotel room where the tragedy unfolded was littered with white powder, tin foil, and a smashed telly. An initial post-mortem revealed Liam suffered multiple injuries, including a skull fracture, leading to "internal and external haemorrhaging."
A leaked 911 call transcript has the hotel manager frantically telling emergency services: "We have a guest who's off his head on drugs and is destroying everything in his room. We need someone to come."
The manager rang back a second time, expressing concern about the balcony in Liam's room and suggesting that the guest's life was 'at risk'. The manager stated: "We need you to send someone urgently because, well, I don't know if the guest's life is in danger. They must be in a room that has a balcony. And well, we're a little bit worried he'll do something, that he'll put his life at risk.", reports the Mirror.
Local reports suggest that Clonazepam, a drug used to control seizures or fits due to epilepsy as well panic attacks, was found in Liam's hotel room.
Geoff Payne, father of former One Direction star, has flown to Buenos Aires following the tragic death of his son, which Cheryl, his former partner, described as "indescribably painful". Mr Payne was spotted in a navy suit leaving the Casa Sur Hotel in the Argentine capital.
It's reported by the Associated Press that Mr Payne travelled to Argentina to arrange for his son's body to be returned home. In a video shared by the BBC, Mr Payne can be seen visiting tributes left by fans outside the hotel, reading letters and pausing to look at flowers, photographs and candles.
This comes after the family expressed their devastation over the singer's death, stating: "Liam will forever live in our hearts and we'll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul."
Cheryl, the former Girls Aloud star, has expressed her worries about safeguarding her seven year old son with Payne, following their high-profile romance from 2016 to 2018. "As I try to navigate this earth shattering event, and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time, I'd like to kindly remind everyone that we have lost a human being," she penned in an Instagram post.
Alongside a monochrome snapshot of Payne in bed with their young son Bear, she continued: "Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our 7 year old son. A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again."
The 41 year old concluded her statement by pleading for people to allow Liam "the little dignity he has left in the wake of his death to rest in some peace at last".
Argentina's National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office No 16 is investigating the incident as an "inconclusive death".
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