Liam Payne, the beloved former One Direction member, tragically passed away on October 16, in Argentina. 

Payne had flown to the country to visit his former bandmate, Niall Horgan, who had been in the country on tour. In a shocking accident, Payne fell to his death off the third-floor balcony of a Buenos Aires hotel and died from his traumatic head injuries as well as internal and external bleeding. After the investigation that followed, Payne’s body was released to his father, Geoff Payne. 

The hotel in which Payne was residing called police after he was reported “breaking the whole room” due to his “[overindulgence] in drugs and alcohol”. The caller said that Payne “might do something life-threatening”, due to the room’s feature of an attached balcony. 

After performing his autopsy, forensic doctors ruled out the possibility of self-harm, as well as the direct inference of others contributing to his death. According to NBC news, medical professionals stated that Liam Payne “did not adopt a reflex posture” in order to protect himself during the fall. They attribute this to possible drug or alcohol use, quoting that he “may have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness.” 

Investigators have taken meticulous and extensive action in order to determine the circumstances causing Payne’s death, including taking testimonies from “several dozen” family members, hotel staff members, friends, forensic doctors, biochemists, and psychiatrists. 

To further investigate, over 800 hours of security footage were analyzed from public roads and the hotel, even including the contents of the artist’s cellphone. 

Many substances were found in Payne’s system from the last 72 hours before he died, such as alcohol, cocaine, and prescribed antidepressants. These substances alone are extremely harmful, but combined with the effects and drugs within an antidepressant have the potential to be disastrous. Additionally, Payne reportedly had consumed a recreational drug typically including MDMA, ketamine, and methamphetamine, known informally as “pink cocaine”. 

Three people have been accused due to their crimes in connection with the celebrity’s death, including an employee at the Buenos Aires hotel. One of the accused is suspected to have abandoned Payne following his death, while the other two of the accused allegedly supplied him the narcotics that contributed to his death. The employee of the hotel is accused of delivering cocaine to Payne on two separate occasions. All three persons are currently under investigation, having surrendered their passports, and have been officially prohibited from leaving the country.

The well-loved singer and friend will most certainly be missed, and America holds its breath as it waits for the investigation to conclude, bringing the contributors to his death to justice.