Former One Direction member Liam Payne allegedly died in Buenos Aires on Wednesday after falling from the balcony of his hotel room. An autopsy has confirmed that the British singer's cause of death was trauma along with internal and external bleeding, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Meanwhile, days before his passing, Liam Payne's girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, provided insight into her decision to leave him in Argentina. She departed Buenos Aires unexpectedly after they had been spending time together.
Payne and Cassidy had travelled to Argentina earlier this month to attend a show by Niall Horan, his former One Direction bandmate. Although they had planned to stay for five days, their trip was extended to two weeks.
Authorities investigating the scene discovered evidence in Liam Payne's hotel room that included what appeared to be narcotics and alcoholic beverages, along with several damaged objects and furniture. Experts are currently working to determine whether the substances identified were indeed drugs.
Five witnesses have been interviewed, including three hotel staff members and two women who had been in Payne's room earlier but had left before the fall occurred.
Moments before Liam Payne's tragic fall, a hotel manager made a frantic call to emergency services, reporting an unruly guest at Hotel CasaSur Palermo in Buenos Aires. The manager described the chaotic situation, stating that the former One Direction member was “out of control” and “putting his life at risk,” requesting urgent assistance.
In audio obtained by The Sun UK, the manager, named Esteban, indicated that Payne was destroying his hotel room while under the influence of “drugs and alcohol.” He said, “We have a guest drunk with drugs and alcohol. When he is conscious, he is breaking everything in the room.”
Liam Payne was discovered on “The X Factor” in 2010, alongside his One Direction bandmates Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan. The five initially auditioned as solo artists but were ultimately grouped together to form a band, finishing third in the competition.
They were later signed to Simon Cowell's Syco Entertainment and went on to become one of the highest-selling boy bands in history, with 70 million records sold worldwide before announcing an indefinite hiatus in 2016, according to Variety.
After the hiatus, Payne signed a solo record deal with Capitol Records U.K. and began releasing music in 2017, starting with the single "Strip That Down," featuring Migos rapper Quavo. His debut solo album, "LP1," was released in December 2019, and he recently put out a new single, "Teardrops," in March, with a second album on the way.
(With inputs from agencies)
