Liam Payne may have been unconscious when he fell to his death from third-floor balcony
One Direction star Liam Payne may have been unconscious when he fell to his death.
Liam Payne might have been unconscious when he fell to his death from a hotel balcony, prosecutors have revealed tonight.
The One Direction star’s autopsy concluded that he died from severe injuries he sustained in the tragic fall, but he didn’t adopt a ‘reflex position’ to brace for the impact.
As a result, due to the position he was found in, the injuries he sustained, Fiscales reports that he may have been partly or fully unconscious when he died.
The National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office reported that Liam Payne died of ‘multiple trauma’ and ‘internal and external haemorrhage’.
Fiscales said: “The prosecutor's office said that, as a matter of protocol, the circumstances of the case are being investigated as a "doubtful death," although everything indicates that the musician was alone when the fall occurred.”
‘Dudoso’ literally means “doubtful”, but in the current context is believed to indicate it is an “unexplained” death.
“The prosecutor's office pointed out that, as a matter of protocol, the circumstances of the case are being investigated as a ‘doubtful death’, although everything suggests that the musician was alone when the fall occurred and was going through some kind of psychotic episode as a result of substance abuse.
“According to the reconstruction by the prosecution, the incident occurred at 17:07 yesterday.
"The prosecutor's office indicated that, due to the position of the body and the injuries sustained in the fall, it is presumed that Payne did not adopt a reflexive posture to protect himself and that he may have fallen in a state of semi-or total unconsciousness.”
Police sources said earlier that a mobile and laptop from tragic Liam Payne’s Buenos Aires hotel room, which they are expected to analyse for clues that could help explain his actions leading up to his death.
City police sources confirmed earlier this afternoon they had found clonazepam, a benzodiazepine used to control seizures or fits due to epilepsy as well as panic attacks, during a search of the singer’s third-floor deluxe suite.
The prosecutor’s office indicated the musician was alone when the fall occurred and said he appeared to be “going through some kind of outbreak due to substance abuse”.
Forensic experts said no injuries were observed that would suggest the intervention of third parties, although “the investigation is also aimed at determining the possible intervention of third parties in the events prior to his death”.
Police in the Argentine capital previously said the music star’s hotel room had been “in complete disarray” with “various items broken”.
They added that a whiskey bottle, lighter and mobile phone had been retrieved from the internal hotel courtyard where Payne’s body was found.
Tributes have been paid to the singer after his death at the age of 31, with pictures showing shocked fans gathering outside the hotel after police cordoned off the area, with forensic investigators in white protective suits and blue gloves seen entering and leaving.
Fans were photographed lighting candles and leaving flowers at the side of the road in an impromptu vigil as they paid tribute to the music star.
Former X Factor contestants have paid tribute to Payne, with Cher Lloyd, who appeared on the ITV programme in the same year, writing on Instagram that she will “cherish the memories made and the laughs we had”.
A post from the official X Factor account on X, formerly Twitter, described Payne as “immensely talented”, while the show’s former host Dermot O’Leary told ITV’s This Morning the singer was “kind of both wise and sort of a young soul at exactly the same time”.
One Direction was formed in 2010, with Payne, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles, after they individually auditioned for The X Factor.
After becoming one of the biggest pop groups in the world, with five albums and four world tours, they went on indefinite hiatus in 2016.
Payne, who was born in Wolverhampton, released his debut solo album LP1 in December 2019, which included the songs Polaroid, Familiar and Strip That Down featuring Quavo.
