Liam Payne’s fatal fall from the balcony of a luxury hotel in Buenos Aires is being treated as an ‘inconclusive death’.
Police and prosecutors continue to investigate the tragedy involving the 31-year-old at the Casa Sur Hotel in the Argentine capital last Wednesday.
A post-mortem examination has determined that the One Direction star died from multiple injuries after the fall from the third floor balcony of his suite.
But lead investigator, Prosecutor Marcelo Roma, has called for histopathological, biochemical and toxicological studies to be carried out, to confirm whether the musician was drugged and intoxicated.
With those results expected to take between 10 to 15 days, Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office is currently treating his death as ‘inconclusive’, it has emerged.
His father Geoff has travelled to the Argentine capital to visually confirm the body is his son’s and to arrange for its repatriation back to the UK once it is released by the authorities. His funeral is expected to take place in November.
Liam Payne with fans in Argentina in the days leading up to his death
Liam Payne pictured next to a lift in the Casa Sur Hotel lobby at 4.28pm on Wednesday – shortly before his death, which is currently being treated as ‘inconclusive’
Liam in 2010 as One Direction reached the X-Factor final
Fans of Liam Payne cry during a memorial gathering at Santa Ana Square in Madrid yesterday
It came as MailOnline exclusively revealed Liam had been quietly dropped by his record label because they feared the music he wanted to make wouldn’t win over his One Direction fanbase, sources have claimed.
DailyMail.com previously revealed the late singer, who died aged 31 on Wednesday after falling from a third floor of a hotel in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires, was served a devastating blow by Universal Music who put his second album on hold before dropping him.
And now, insiders have claimed that the industry bigwigs cut ties with Payne in part because of the type of music he loved making.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, they said: ‘Liam wanted to make the sort of music he enjoyed but his label believed it wouldn’t win over 1D fans so there were disagreements about the way his brand should have been marketed.’
The insider also alleged that the executives were having to make budget cuts, and the former One Direction star’s bad press ultimately helped to determine his fate.
It is claimed the label ties with Payne partly because of ‘all the memes and jokes people made about him online’.
‘The entire music industry is making cuts and restructuring to cut costs so Universal decided to drop Liam quietly and invest in other artists,’ the source said.
‘He didn’t need the money because he was wealthy, but yes it did hurt him because he was under constant pressure to compete with the other guys in the band.’
The source added: ‘Unfortunately, part of the decision was motivated by all of the memes and jokes people made about him online.
‘His team saw that as a sign to jump ship.’
Liam Payne was quietly dropped by his record label just days before his death (star pictured at Wembley in 2023)
The former One Direction singer, pictured in 2019, was let go because the label feared the music he wanted to make wouldn’t win over his One Direction fanbase
Today two workers at the hotel where Liam fell to his death are being investigated for supplying the star with drugs in the days leading up to the tragedy.
The men are accused of smuggling them into the singer’s suite at the CasaSur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
A cleaner and another member of staff are said to have hidden the drugs in a Dove soap box which detectives found in 31-year-old Payne’s room following his death last Wednesday.
White powder, crystals, tablets and other paraphernalia were discovered in the third-floor suite.
Police have sent the chemicals – believed to be cocaine and crack cocaine – for analysis.
Management at CasaSur, in the upmarket district of Palermo, are understood to have been made aware of the unusual behaviour of the unnamed men and dismissed one member of staff.
Detectives have also questioned them about their possible role in Payne’s death.
‘There were two guys at the hotel that were giving Liam drugs,’ a close friend of Mr Payne has revealed.
‘They sent taxis out to collect packages for him. One of the guys was working in the cleaning department. After Liam died, they noticed that one taxi was sent to the cleaner’s home address.
‘The hotel manager asked him why the taxi had gone to his home and when he couldn’t give an explanation he was fired.
‘The cleaner and another member of staff have been interviewed by the police.’
The friend added: ‘Liam was doing everything to stay clean but as soon as he got to the hotel these people were offering him alcohol and drugs.’
Representatives of the CasaSur Hotel have so far declined to comment.
Last month, fans expressed concern for Payne after he appeared to act erratically in a TikTok video uploaded by his girlfriend Kate Cassidy, 24.
On September 30, Kate uploaded a clip in which she showed off their ‘outfit of the night check’.
In the upload, Payne popped in and out of the frame almost tripping her up multiple times as she struggled to talk through what she was wearing.
He also danced in the background and appeared in shot holding a laptop which was blasting music.
An insider told DailyMail.com ‘the entire music industry is making cuts and restructuring to cut costs’
Fans flooded the comments with their unease, with one writing: ‘Is Liam ok? Genuine question.’
Another said: ‘Omg Liam please take care and get the help/time you need.’
Days later, on October 2, Payne was filmed dancing the macarena during an intermission at Niall Horan’s concert in Buenos Aires.
The clip went viral, but social media users were less than pleasant and described Payne as ’embarrassing’ and ‘cringe’.
Another source claimed to DailyMail.com that Universal Music’s decision to scrap Liam was to do with his online persona.
‘It was more to do with public perception than anything because other musicians are a lot harder to work with,’ they said.
‘But Liam was being mocked in public, so it was much easier for his team to abandon him.
‘Liam made millions for the industry but was shunned when he wanted it to support him.’
DailyMail.com has contacted Universal for comment.
Multiple sources previously confirmed to DailyMail.com on Thursday that Payne was given a huge advance at the label but he didn’t recoup it.
Universal Music paid tribute to Payne on social media following news of his death
‘Out of all of the One Direction boys, Liam was on the wrong path musically,’ an insider said.
The Universal Music Group paid tribute to Payne on Thursday morning on social media.
Their statement read: ‘We are devastated by the tragic passing of Liam Payne.
‘His legacy will live on through his music and the countless fans he inspired and who adored him.
‘We send our deepest condolences to Liam’s family and loved ones.’
On top of being dropped by his label, Payne’s PR also resigned earlier this month, which left him without any publicity representation.
The resignation came as his ex-fiancé Maya Henry began legal proceedings against him after accusing him of repeatedly contacting her.
One source said: ‘It is like all of Liam’s music career that he had built up since he went solo eight years ago was crumbling, there was very little left for him.
‘It must have absolutely devastated him.’
