Argentine police raid Buenos Aires hotel where One Direction’s Liam Payne died – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine police raided the Buenos Aires hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne stayed before he died last week after falling from a third-story balcony, they said Thursday. a government official.

A special police investigation unit went to the Casa Sur hotel on Wednesday evening, on the orders of the public prosecutor’s office. Agents seized items including computer hard drives and footage from hotel cameras, a government official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The singer died on October 16 after falling from a third-floor balcony in the upscale tourist district of Palermo. According to the autopsy, Payne died from multiple injuries as well as internal and external bleeding caused by the fall. His body was found in the interior courtyard of the hotel.

Initial investigations suggest that the musician was alone and experiencing “depression” due to the use of substances that have not yet been determined. After Payne’s death, police found substances in his hotel room, as well as several destroyed objects and furniture, according to prosecutors.

The British boyband star had cocaine in his system, according to a preliminary toxicology report published Monday by the local press and confirmed to the AP by a close source. The final results are not expected to be made public for several weeks.

The Casa Sur Hotel has become a place where Payne fans can pay their respects. They placed flowers, candles and photos of the singer in a makeshift shrine around a tree at the hotel entrance.

The singer’s father, Geoff Payne, is in Buenos Aires to organize the repatriation of his son’s body, which is expected to be released around October 28.

Payne’s family – which includes his mother Karen Payne and two sisters Ruth and Nicola – have expressed their devastation at the loss, as have his former bandmates. Artists and celebrities from various countries continue to share their grief.

One Direction were one of the most successful boy bands of recent times. He announced an indefinite hiatus in 2016 and Payne – like his former bandmates Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson – pursued a solo career.

The singer posted on his Snapchat account that he had traveled to Argentina to attend Horan’s concert in Buenos Aires on October 2. He shared videos of himself dancing with his girlfriend, American influencer Kate Cassidy, and singing in the stands. Cassidy had left Argentina after the show, but Payne stayed behind.

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