Death of Liam Payne: An overview of the investigation so far into the tragic case of 1D Star

Trigger Warning: This article contains references to the death of a person.

Liam Payne, a former One Direction member, died at the age of 31 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. According to authorities, he fell from the third floor of a hotel in Palermo.

On Wednesday, emergency services responded to a report and found Payne’s body in a courtyard. According to police, a preliminary autopsy revealed that Payne died as a result of external and internal bleeding, the BBC reported.

Witnesses at the scene reported hearing a loud noise shortly before Payne’s body was found. Officers responded to initial reports of an aggressive male who may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

When police arrived they were alerted to a noise in the yard which led them to the tragic crime scene. According to the Buenos Aires police, among other things, a bottle of whiskey, a lighter and a cell phone were found at the site. Drugs were also found in Payne’s hotel room.

According to Emergency Services Director Alberto Crescenti, Payne suffered serious injuries. However, he declined to discuss the details of the fall. The investigation is still ongoing. Police say evidence was collected, including fingerprints and inspections of the balcony from which Payne fell.

Staff in Payne’s hotel room reported complete disarray, with broken items and various medications, including clonazepam and over-the-counter medications.

A notebook and a passport were also found. Police have collected five witness statements, three from hotel employees and two from women who had been with Payne earlier that day but were not present during the fall.

Just hours before the incident, Liam Payne posted a Snapchat video saying: “It’s a beautiful day here in Argentina.” The footage appeared to be from earlier this week when he was spending time with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy.

After his death, fans gathered outside the hotel to light candles and leave messages in his memory. “I was in my living room and my sister told me that Liam had died,” said Violeta Antier, a young fan. “We couldn’t believe it. We came straight here to confirm it was true.” Another fan explained, “This is the only way I can say goodbye to him.”

Liam Payne gained worldwide fame as a member of One Direction, which was formed on The X Factor in 2010. The band’s songs were “What Makes You Beautiful” and “Story of My Life”, which made them famous in pop music.

After the band announced their breakup in 2015, Payne pursued a solo career and achieved success with hits such as Strip That Down, which reached number three in the UK charts.

In August, he was announced as a judge on a new Netflix talent show alongside Kelly Rowland and Nicole Scherzinger. Payne’s personal life has been marked by a high-profile relationship with Girls Aloud’s Cheryl Tweedy, with whom he had a son named Bear in 2017. The couple separated in 2018.

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