Liam Payne, former member of the band One Direction, had consumed cocaine, alcohol, and a prescription antidepressant before his fatal fall from a Buenos Aires hotel balcony last month, Argentine prosecutors revealed on Thursday. Payne, 31, was found dead on October 16 after falling from the third-floor balcony of his room at the CasaSur Hotel.
According to the prosecutor’s office, toxicology reports confirmed that Payne’s system showed traces of multiple substances in the 72 hours leading up to his death.
“The results of the toxicological studies which have been communicated to his family revealed that, in the moments prior to his death and over a period covering at least his last 72 hours, Payne had traces of polydrug use of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his body,” prosecutors stated.
An autopsy report indicated that Payne sustained “multiple traumas” and suffered from “internal and external hemorrhaging” as a result of the fall. Prosecutors ruled out self-harm or physical intervention by others, stating that his injuries were consistent with a fall from height.
They added that Payne was “either not fully conscious or was in a state of markedly diminished or absent consciousness at the time of the fall.”
Three individuals have since been charged in connection with Payne’s death. Prosecutors alleged that these suspects supplied Payne with drugs, with one also facing charges for abandoning him in a vulnerable state.
One of the suspects reportedly accompanied Payne daily during his stay in Buenos Aires, while another, a hotel employee, allegedly provided cocaine on two occasions. A third person is accused of supplying him with cocaine just days before his death.
The passing of Payne, who had enjoyed a successful solo career after One Direction’s hiatus in 2016, has led to a worldwide expression of grief from family, former bandmates, and fans.
