Liam Payne’s Cause of Death Revealed By Authorities

Argentine prosecutors have ruled out suicide in the death of former One Direction member Liam Payne, determining he was not fully conscious during his fatal fall from a Buenos Aires hotel balcony. The National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No. 14, led by prosecutor Andrés Esteban Madrea, released their findings three weeks after the singer’s death, Music Times reports.

The investigation concluded they must “rule out the possibility of a conscious or voluntary act” on Payne’s part since “in the state he was in, he did not know what he was doing.” The prosecutor’s report elaborated: “Although other medical background information from the victim’s clinical history must still be analyzed, the phenomenon of the lack of defense or self-preservation reflex in the fall, together with other relevant data from his consumption, allow us to conclude that Liam Payne was not fully conscious or was experiencing a state of noticeable decrease or loss of consciousness at the time of the fall.”

The autopsy revealed that Payne’s injuries were neither the result of self-harm nor physical intervention by others, per Deadline. The singer died of multiple injuries and external trauma when he fell from the third-floor balcony of his Buenos Aires hotel room on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at age 31.

Prior to the incident at Casa Sur Hotel, staff contacted authorities regarding “an aggressive man that could’ve been under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” according to La Nación. Subsequent toxicology reports identified multiple substances in his system, including “pink cocaine.” The autopsy revealed 25 injuries following the fall, with initial reports from the Buenos Aires Security Ministry indicating he had “jumped” from the balcony. However, further investigation suggested he may have been unconscious during the fall, according to Music Times.

Authorities have charged three individuals in connection with the 31-year-old’s death. The suspects face accusations of “abandonment of a person followed by death, supply and facilitating the use of narcotics.” While their identities remain undisclosed, reports indicate one was close to Payne and possibly worked with him, another was a hotel employee, and the third provided narcotics to the singer. A judge has restricted the suspects from leaving Argentina, though no arrests have been made. Reports also indicate two women were present in his hotel room in the hours before his death.

Born Aug. 29, 1993, in Wolverhampton, England, Payne first appeared on The X Factor at age 14 in 2008, performing Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon.” Though initially eliminated, he returned in 2010 at Simon Cowell‘s encouragement and was grouped with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik to form One Direction. The band achieved global success between 2010 and 2016, selling over 70 million albums worldwide. Following the group’s hiatus, Payne released his solo album LP1 in 2019.