What we know about Liam Payne’s death

One Direction star Liam Payne died on 16 October 2024, at the age of 31, after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.

He died shortly after a hotel staff member called police with concerns that the star was “overwhelmed by drugs and alcohol”.

Five people were charged in relation to death. Manslaughter charges against three were dropped, but two men still face charges of selling Payne cocaine before his death.

Here’s what we know so far about the police investigation and the circumstances surrounding his death.

Why was Liam in Argentina?

Payne was visiting his former bandmate Niall Horan, who was in the country on tour.

He had posted on Snapchat that he was visiting Horan for a catch-up, saying: “It’s been a while since me and Niall have spoken, we’ve got a lot to talk about.” He added: “No bad vibes or anything like that, but we need to talk.”

Payne attended Horan’s show, posting social media videos of himself and girlfriend Kate Cassidy singing and dancing at the concert.

He documented much of his trip on Snapchat, including pictures of food, plans to play polo, and jokes about his hair. We also know the pop star visited a friend’s house in Argentina in the days before he died, again with Cassidy.

By the time Payne fell to his death, Cassidy had left the country.

What happened on the day he died?

Payne had been staying in the upmarket Casa Sur hotel in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires for three days before his death.

[BBC]

Payne’s friend Roger Nores was at the hotel with him but left at 16:11 local time (20:11 BST) on 16 October 2024, Argentine prosecutors have said.

Payne was then in the hotel lobby and was unable to stand “due to the consumption of various substances”, they said.

At 16:54, cameras recorded him being dragged unconscious by three people – led by chief receptionist Esteban Grassi – and taken to his room, according to prosecutors.

Grassi called emergency services at about 17:00, with requests to respond to a hotel guest “who is overwhelmed by drugs and alcohol” and “destroying his room”.

“I don’t know if the guest’s life is in danger. But he has a room with a balcony and we’re a little afraid that he might do something life-threatening,” Grassi said in a second call.

Payne’s room was on the third floor and had a balcony about 14m (45ft) above an interior courtyard.

It is thought he fell from the balcony at about 17:07 local time.

Police arrived minutes later. Hotel staff told them a loud sound had been heard in the courtyard, where Payne’s body was discovered.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, with the emergency services saying there had been “no possibility of resuscitation”.

Police said they found his room in “total disorder”. Local media later published pictures purportedly from his room, showing a TV with a broken screen, multiple bottles, cans, candles, aluminium foil and a half-full glass of champagne.

What did official tests reveal?

An autopsy, which was carried out that evening, established that Payne suffered “multiple traumas” and “internal and external haemorrhaging”, with 25 injuries that were “consistent with a fall from a great height”.

On 7 November 2024, the prosecutor’s office said toxicology tests revealed traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his body.

They also ruled out self-harm or physical intervention by a third party.

They said Payne didn’t adopt a posture to protect himself from the fall. That, along with other information, led them to conclude he was unconscious or semi-conscious when he fell.

They ruled out “a conscious or voluntary act”, saying he didn’t know what he was doing or didn’t understand it.

However, following a further forensic report and an inspection of the scene on 5 December, a judge said that, in his state of intoxication, Payne “tried to leave the room through the balcony” and fell to his death.

The judge reached ther conclusion that Payne tried to leave from the balcony because forensic experts had decided he did not pass out and lose his balance.

Who has been charged?

Five people were charged in December 2024 in connection with Payne’s death.

Nores, Grassi and the hotel’s head of security Gilda Martin were charged with manslaughter. However, those charges were dropped in February 2025.

Two others face charges relating to allegations of selling drugs to the singer:

Hotel employee Ezequiel Pereyra is suspected of having sold Payne cocaine on 15 and 16 October

Waiter Braian Paiz is also suspected of having sold cocaine to the singer twice on 14 October

Remembering Liam Payne