As Liam Payne’s cause of death has been confirmed at a UK inquest, the Mirror takes a look at the One Direction star’s preliminary autopsy, which made some heartbreaking conclusions
A preliminary autopsy conducted shortly after Liam Payne’s death uncovered his heartbreaking final struggle.
The One Direction singer, 31, fatally fell from a third-floor balcony at the Casa Sur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina around 5pm on October 16, 2024. Staff at the hotel had grown concerned for Liam’s welfare in the hours before and had rang emergency services for assistance after the popstar was seen acting ‘erratically’ in the foyer.
Liam’s body was tragically found on an internal patio and it was initially reported he suffered “severe injuries which were incompatible with life”. Now, Liam’s medical cause of death has been confirmed as ‘polytrauma’ at a UK inquest by Dr Roberto Victor Cohen. Polytrauma is a term used to describe multiple injuries that affect multiple organ systems.
According to the NHS, polytrauma is a condition where a patient has sustained multiple injuries that may lead to a disability or be life-threatening. Polytrauma injuries can occur as a result of severe accidents, such as falls, car crashes or combat-related incidents, and can cause injuries to various body parts.
Back in October, upsetting details in the preliminary autopsy gave an insight into the One Direction singer’s physical condition at the time of the fall. The report indicated that Liam did not try to buffer his 40ft from the third-floor balcony, suggesting he was unconscious when he fell.
Dad-of-one Liam, whose tragic death has been linked to a substance-induced psychotic episode, “did not adopt a reflexive posture to protect himself in the fall, so that, for the moment, it can be inferred that he may have fallen in a state of semi – or total unconsciousness,” the report said.
Forensic experts determined that “the 25 injuries described in the autopsy are compatible with those caused by a fall from a height.” They went on to state that Liam had no “defensive type” injuries and that the wounds were “vital and produced at the same time as each other”. It was therefore concluded that “the intervention of third parties would be ruled out”.
In November, a report from the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office concluded that traces of “alcohol, cocaine and prescription antidepressants” had been detected in Liam’s system. Explaining why suicide had been ruled out, officials revealed that “in the state he was in, he did not know what he was doing and could not understand it”.
It was concluded that Liam hadn’t been fully conscious or was “in a state of noticeable decrease or abolition of consciousness”. The investigators determined: “For the prosecution, this situation would also rule out the possibility of a conscious or voluntary act on the part of the victim since, in the state he was in, he did not know what he was doing and could not understand it.”
At the UK inquest today, the hearing heard that Liam’s body was formally identified “with the assistance of the funeral directors in Buckinghamshire”. Senior Coroner Crispin Butler said: “Whilst there are ongoing investigations in Argentina into the circumstances of Liam’s death, over which I have no legal jurisdiction, it is anticipated that procuring the relevant information to address particularly how Liam came by his death may take some time through the formal channel of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.”
