Authorities are investigating who sold drugs to Liam Payne after multiple substances were found in the musician’s system prior to his death at age 31.
A source exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, October 29, that Buenos Aires authorities will look into how “pink cocaine” — a recreational drug typically mixing methamphetamine, ketamine and MDMA — in addition to cocaine, benzodiazepine and crack came into Payne’s possession before his October 16 death after a third-floor fall from a hotel balcony in Argentina.
“They are looking to investigate who sold the drugs to Payne and how those substances reached the room,” the source said, noting that, “it cannot be ruled out that the substances were provided by someone from the hotel.” This insider added, however, that this possibility has not been confirmed.
Us also spoke with a staff member at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel on Tuesday, who declined to provide any comment regarding where the drugs came from.
The investigation comes after a partial autopsy showed that Payne had pink cocaine, cocaine, benzodiazepine and crack in his system, per an October 21 report published by ABC News.
An aluminum pipe was also reportedly found in Payne’s hotel room.
Buenos Aires emergency services chief Alberto Crescenti said at the time, per La Nacion, that Payne suffered “serious injuries” that proved untreatable by the time first responders arrived on the scene after the fall.
Argentinian journalist Paula Varela said during an appearance on Socios del Espectáculo, a program aired on Buenos Aires-based TV station Canal 13, on Tuesday, October 29, that CCTV footage captured Payne’s fall and the moments leading up to it.
“There is footage that is not being released to the media with the balcony scene where you see that Liam faints, and tragically because of where he is, falls from that balcony. If he had been beside his bed, he would have fallen on his bed,” Varela said on the show, per The Mirror and GB News. “It’s not that he jumped deliberately. This footage is in the official case files.”
The claim, which has not been confirmed, aligns with findings from Payne’s preliminary autopsy, which stated that Payne “may have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness,” as the position in which his body was found and his injuries suggested he “did not adopt a reflexive posture to protect himself” during the fall.
In a preliminary autopsy report cited by Us, Forensic Medical Corps doctors documented 25 injuries, including “cranioencephalic injuries [that] were severe enough to cause death.” The officials also noted that hemorrhages in Payne’s skull, chest, abdomen and limbs “contributed to the mechanism of death.”
Us confirmed that Buenos Aires City Police officers were dispatched to the hotel after a 911 call reporting an aggressive man thought to be under the influence, was made.
In a translated transcript of the call, obtained by the BBC, the hotel’s chief receptionist claimed that a guest had taken “too many drugs and alcohol.”
Prior to his death, Payne was vocal about his struggles with drugs and alcohol. He admitted during a 2021 appearance on the “Diary of a CEO” podcast that his early days in One Direction included “pills and booze.”
“There is some stuff that I’ve definitely never spoken about,” he said at the time. “It was really, really, really severe. It was a problem.”
With reporting from Luciana Arias
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
