The day after One Direction singer Liam Payne fell from a third-story hotel balcony, police released a 911 call made from the hotel he was staying at, revealing the 31-year-old singer was intoxicated and acting disorderly before the accident. A preliminary autopsy report revealed Payne’s cause of death, authorities announced Thursday.
Payne, 31, was found dead Wednesday in Bueno Aires at the Casa Sur Hotel, according to local officials. During the phone call, hotel staff said that Payne had used drugs and alcohol and was destroying his hotel room.
“We have a guest who is overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol. When he is conscious he is breaking everything in the room and we need someone sent please,” hotel staff told police, according to an English translation of the phone call.
The caller, who identified as Esteban, the hotel’s desk manager, asked for police to be sent immediately because of concern for Payne’s behavior and his access to the room’s balcony.
“We need to send someone with urgency because I don’t know if the guest’s life is in danger because he is in a room with balcony, and we are a bit worried he’ll do something that puts his life at risk,” the manager said.
Esteban told police during the call that Payne had been at the hotel for a short stay, for two or three days.
In a statement, Buenos Aires police said Payne’s fall resulted in “extremely serious injuries” and medics confirmed his death at the scene.
Pablo Policicchio, a spokesperson for the Security Ministry of Buenos Aires municipality, said in a statement that Payne “had thrown himself from the balcony of his room.”
He said police received a call from an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” and arriving police heard Payne fall, finding his body in the courtyard.
It’s not clear whether the 31-year-old fell or jumped to his demise as the investigation continues.
An autopsy shows Payne died from “polytrauma” and “internal and external hemorrhage” to the skull, chest, abdomen, and limbs, Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No. 14 said in a statement (link no longer available) Thursday on their website.
The autopsy and investigation also revealed Payne likely did not “adopt a reflex posture” to protect himself as he fell, according to his injuries and the position he landed in, suggesting he may have been unconscious or semi-unconscious. No prior injuries were observed on his body.
Both drugs and alcohol were found in the musician’s hotel room “as well as several objects and destroyed furniture,” according to the recent report.
Payne has struggled with alcohol addiction, receiving treatment in the past, according to a July 2023 video posted on his YouTube channel where he said he was then 6 months sober.
A five-member band, One Direction was formed in 2010 during an audition at “The X Factor,” a British singing competition TV series. The band members each failed to move forward from solo auditions, but Simon Cowell and judges suggested the five sing together, forming what would become one of the most successful boy bands.
The group achieved six Top 10 Hits on the Billboard charts before the five-man crew separated in 2016. Payne continued a solo career and put out his album “LP1” in 2019.
Payne is survived by a 7-year-old son, Bear Grey Payne, his parents Geoff and Karen Payne, and two older sisters Nicola and Ruth.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.