The cause of death of former One Direction singer Liam Payne was confirmed as a “polytrauma,” according to a British inquest.
Payne, 31, died on 16 October last year after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Dr Roberto Victor Cohen confirmed that multiple trauma, or polytrauma, was his medical cause of death.
Senior coroner Crispin Butler told the hearing on 17 December that it would take “some time” to officially confirm what led to the singer’s demise.
Whilst there are ongoing investigations in Argentina into the circumstances of Liam’s death … 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.
In November, Argentine prosecutors said toxicological tests found traces of alcohol, cocaine and an antidepressant in Payne’s body. According to state prosecutors, he was so drunk and drug-affected just hours before his death that three people had to carry him into a room.
Medical reports also suggest he might have fallen into a semi- or fully unconscious state. The prosecutor’s office argued this proved that Payne’s fall was not a voluntary act.
Later, an autopsy revealed that he had suffered “multiple trauma” as a result of a fall from the balcony. Manslaughter charges were brought against a Casa Sur hotel manager, a receptionist, and Roger Nores, a friend of Payne.
The judge said Nores was “held criminally responsible for the death” as he had “abandoned” Payne, “having full knowledge of the state of intoxication, vulnerability and helplessness in which he found himself.”
Besides the three suspects, a hotel employee and a waiter were charged with drug offences. They were accused of selling cocaine to Payne days before the accident.
