Liam Payne’s Cause of Death Confirmed

Liam Payne’s cause of death has been confirmed in a UK inquest three months after the former One Direction member suffered a fatal fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The 31-year-old singer’s cause of death has been confirmed to have been “polytrauma,” according to the BBC, which the National Institutes of Health (NIH) defines as multiple traumatic injuries that have been sustained to the body and organs.

Payne’s original post-mortem examination, released in November, had determined his cause of death to be due to multiple traumas and “internal and external hemorrhage” as a result of the fall from the third-floor hotel balcony on Oct. 16. The Argentine prosecutor’s office also determined that toxicology tests revealed traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in Payne’s body.

Medical reports also suggested Payne had fallen from the balcony in a state of partial or total unconsciousness, ruling out the possibility that the musician purposefully fell from the balcony or had any comprehension of what he was doing.

On Dec. 17, a hearing at Buckinghamshire Coroner’s Court confirmed that the UK investigation into the singer’s death may take “some time” due to ongoing legal processes in Argentina that include the arrest of five people who have been charged in connection with Payne’s death.

The manager of the Casa Sur Hotel, Gilda Martin, and its receptionist, Esteban Grassi, have been charged with manslaughter, as has Payne’s friend Roger Nores, according to the Argentine prosecutor’s office. Another hotel employee, Ezequiel Pereyra, and waiter Braian Paiz have been charged with supplying the celebrity with drugs.

Hotel workers had previously called Buenos Aires Police prior to Payne’s death to report an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.” Prosecutors alleged last month that Martin and Grassi allowed Payne to be taken up to his room while he was in a troubling state instead of keeping him in a location without sources of danger and supervision until help could arrive.

In November, Payne was laid to rest following a funeral held in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. In attendance at the ceremony were his former One Direction bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik, as well as his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, and his ex, Cheryl Cole, with whom he shared 7-year-old son Bear.