Liam Payne’s shocking death prompts outpouring of grief and questions

By Sandra Gonzalez and Jessie Yeung, CNN

(CNN) — More than an hour after sundown in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, a red van backed up to a side door of the four-star CasaSur Palermo Hotel to remove the body of former One Direction band member Liam Payne from the premises.

Payne, 31, had died earlier in the day after falling from the third floor of the hotel, according to a statement from Buenos Aires police.

Hotel staff had requested urgent police assistance shortly before Payne fell, according to a 911 call obtained by CNN’s local affiliate Todo Noticias. “We have a guest who is overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol,” the hotel manager said on the call. “He breaks things up. He is tearing the whole room apart.”

The manager said they needed “someone to be sent to us urgently,” as staff didn’t know “if the guest’s life is at risk.”

Hotel staff could not enter the room, where the guest had been staying “for two or three days,” the manager said on the call.

On Thursday, the public prosecutor’s office in Argentina said in a statement that it is investigating Payne’s case and that “everything indicates that the musician was alone when the fall occurred and was experiencing some kind of episode due to substance abuse.”

On Wednesday, Buenos Aires police had said in a statement to The Associated Press that Payne “had jumped from the balcony of his room,” without elaborating on how that conclusion was reached or whether the jump was intentional. Police said in an earlier statement that they rushed to the hotel in response to an emergency call just after 5 p.m. local time warning of an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”

When reached by CNN on Thursday, Pablo Policicchio, communications director for the Buenos Aires Police, declined to clarify the statement provided to AP and referred CNN to the prosecutor’s office for more information.

Payne’s injuries suggest he might not have been fully conscious at the time of his fall, the public prosecutor’s report suggested. “Due to the position in which the body was found and the injuries from the fall, it is presumed that Payne did not adopt a reflexive posture to protect himself and may have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness,’” it read.

The public prosecutor’s report added that a series of substances were seized in Payne’s Buenos Aires hotel room that might “indicate a prior situation of alcohol and drug consumption.”

As the investigation continues, the prosecutor’s office said the statements of five witnesses have been taken to reconstruct what happened in the hours before Payne’s death. The prosecutor in charge of the investigation, Marcelo Roma, confirmed that the preliminary autopsy report determined that Payne’s death was due to “polytrauma,” or multiple serious injuries, and “internal and external hemorrhage” as a result of the fall.

Photos of Payne’s hotel room, released by Buenos Aires police, showed a smashed television. Authorities are now investigating the circumstances of his death and conducting an autopsy, Alberto Crescenti, head of the state emergency medical system, told Todo Noticias.

“We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul,” Payne’s family said in a statement to CNN. “We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space at this awful time.”

Fans started to gather outside the hotel upon news of his death on Wednesday, building a vigil to the popular musician, the circumstances surrounding his death were still being investigated. With hordes of onlookers and press assembled on the street outside the hotel, a fire department van parked as close to the exit door as possible, seemingly to prevent others from viewing the scene as responders worked. In death, Payne was afforded privacy he was rarely given in life.

‘He just loved to sing’

One Direction was famously assembled by producer Simon Cowell after he saw Payne and four other talented young men – Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan – audition for the UK’s version of “The X-Factor.” Individually, they weren’t good enough, Cowell thought.

Together, it turned out, they were a sensation.

Called 1D by their fans, they became a global phenomenon as the first group to have its first four albums debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Their massive fanbase, nicknamed Directioners, propelled the pop group to more than 50 million records sold before the members parted ways to pursue solo careers. They were known for songs like “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Best Song Ever,” and “Story of My Life.”

Payne has spoken previously about the mental weight of fame.

“I don’t think I struggle in the sense of what you would naturally think of when I’m walking down the street with every person stopping me,” he told Esquire Middle East in 2019. “I mean, it happens sometimes but it’s mainly mentally where you struggle with it. It’s the getting ready and always knowing that you might be photographed.”

Malik was the first to depart the band in 2015. The others followed suit.

CNN has reached out to Payne’s former bandmates and Cowell for comment. As of Thursday morning, none had made a public statement.

In the hours after news of his death, tributes poured in from people who had known Payne since the start of his teenage stardom.

“I remember him as a 14 year old turning up to audition on The X Factor, and blowing us away singing Sinatra,” wrote former “X-Factor” presenter Dermot O’Leary on Instagram, sharing a photo of himself and a young Payne on stage. “He just loved to sing. He was always a joy, had time for everyone, polite, grateful, and was always humble.”

Singer Rita Ora, who collaborated with Payne in 2018 on their song “For You,” wrote on her X page on Thursday that she “loved working with him so much – he was such a joy to be around on and off stage.”

During her concert in Japan on Wednesday night, Ora paid tribute to Payne by performing “For You,” appearing to tear up throughout the song, video footage from the concert shows. At one point, Ora told the audience “I can’t even sing this right now” before she sat on the stage and placed her head in her hands. A photo of Ora and Payne in the studio together splashed across the screen behind her.

Anne Twist, the mother of former bandmate Styles, posted a broken-hearted emoji on Instagram, writing: “Just a boy…”

Fans across social media expressed their shock and grief at losing what many described as an iconic figure in their youth – reminiscing on their years as fervent fans.

“(One Direction) meant a lot to me because I was at a stage (in my life) where I wanted to form part of something bigger, and One Direction and being a Directioner was that for me,” said Yamila Zacarias, a 25-year-old fan at the vigil outside Payne’s hotel in Buenos Aires.

Behind her, mourning fans lit candles and sang the One Direction song “Infinity.”

Fellow artists also voiced their grief and condolences, including producer Zedd and singer-songwriter Charlie Puth.

“I am in shock right now,” Puth wrote on Instagram. “Liam was always so kind to me. He was one of the first major artists I got to work with. I can not believe he is gone.”

Final days

Payne had shared undated pictures from Argentina to his social media accounts in recent days. He was also seen attending his former bandmate Horan’s concert in Buenos Aires on October 2, according to videos posted on social media from the show.

Payne released his first solo album in 2019 titled “LP1.” Last year, he announced plans for a new album and tour that were later postponed after Payne suffered a kidney infection.

He had been open about past struggles with substance abuse and talked about being six months sober in a video shared on YouTube in summer 2023.

“It’s good to be in this position,” he said at the time. “I definitely don’t need those things anymore. The party’s over.”

He also thanked his former partner Cheryl Cole, with whom he had a 7-year-old son named Bear, for giving him the “freedom” and support to get well at the time.

Last spring, Payne released the song “Teardrops.”

“I always think in pictures as much as I think in sounds when I’m making music,” Payne said in a video of him recording the song. “The feelings that these chords and different things give me, everyone of these songs is a story from my life.”

This story has been updated with additional information. CNN’s Mauricio Torres, Stefano Pozzebon, Sol Amaya and Edward Szekeres contributed reporting.

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