Tragedy strikes as Liam Payne dies in tragic hotel fall

Several substances that could indicate prior use of alcohol and other intoxicants were found in his hotel room, according to the prosecutor's statement.

Payne's body was discovered on Wednesday afternoon local time (morning Eastern Time) in the inner courtyard of the hotel in the Palermo district of the capital. The musician stayed in a room with a balcony on the building's third floor.

"The autopsy on British musician Liam James Payne, 31, determined that the former member of the boy band One Direction died of multiple injuries and internal and external hemorrhaging," the report confirmed, as quoted by the prosecutor's office.

Additional tests, including toxicological analyses, have been ordered.

Investigators assessed that the 25 injuries detailed in the autopsy report are consistent with a fall from a significant height. No injuries suggesting the involvement of another party were found on the body.

The prosecutor noted that based on the pattern of wounds and the body's position, it is assumed he did not adopt a reflexive defensive posture and may have been in a state of complete or partial unconsciousness, the statement added.

Statements were collected from five witnesses, including three hotel employees and two women who had previously been in Payne's room but were not present at the hotel at the time of his death, according to the prosecutor's report.

Payne rose to international fame as a member of the now-defunct British-Irish pop band One Direction, where he performed alongside Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson.

The Infobae portal reports that the primary hypothesis of the investigators is currently suicide, potentially tied to a mental health crisis related to substance use. The portal noted that Payne was alone in the room at the time of his fall.

The room contained several items, including a bottle of whiskey, a powder resembling cocaine, aluminum foil, and charred fragments of drink cans. Additionally, the room's TV screen was smashed, as reported by Argentine media.

Press reports also revealed that before the musician's death, the hotel reception manager called the emergency number to request an ambulance team. He reported a guest who "is intoxicated by drugs and alcohol," and "when he's conscious, he breaks, he's breaking the whole room." He also expressed concern for the guest's life, noting that he occupied a room with a balcony.