Argentina’s police raided the Buenos Aires hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne stayed before dying last week after falling from a third-floor balcony, a government official said Thursday.
A police special investigations unit was dispatched to the Casa Sur hotel on orders from the public prosecutor’s office Wednesday night. Officers seized things such as computer hard drives and hotel camera footage, according to a government official who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to do so publicly. The singer died on October 16 after falling from a third-floor balcony in the upscale, touristy Palermo district.
According to the autopsy, Payne died as a result of various injuries, including internal and external bleeding caused by the fall. His body was discovered in the hotel’s interior courtyard.
Initial investigations indicate that the artist was alone and undergoing a “breakdown” as a result of the ingestion of unknown narcotics. Following Payne’s death, investigators discovered narcotics in his hotel room, as well as various destroyed artifacts and furniture, according to the public prosecutors’ office.
The British boyband star had cocaine in his system, according to a preliminary toxicology report released by local press Monday and confirmed to the Associated Press by a source familiar. The definitive results are not anticipated to be made public for some weeks. Fans of Payne can now pay their respects at the Casa Sur hotel. They have left flowers, candles, and images of the singer in a makeshift shrine centered on a tree near the hotel’s entrance.
The singer’s father, Geoff Payne, is in Buenos Aires preparing for the repatriation of his son’s body, which is likely to be freed around October 28. Payne’s family, including his mother, Karen Payne, and two sisters, Ruth and Nicola, have expressed their grief over the loss, as have his former bandmates. Artists and celebrities from other countries continue to express their condolences.
One Direction was one of the most successful boy bands of recent years. It announced an indefinite break in 2016, and Payne and his former bandmates Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson explored a solo career.
The singer announced on his Snapchat account that he has come to Argentina to see Horan’s concert in Buenos Aires on October 2. He posted footage of himself dancing with his girlfriend, American influencer Kate Cassidy, and singing in the stands. Cassidy had departed Argentina following the event, but Payne stuck behind.
