Singer and former One Direction member Liam Payne tragically died age 31 on Wednesday after falling from a balcony.

He was staying at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and local police are currently investigating his death as tributes continue to pour in.

The autopsy confirmed Payne died from multiple injuries sustained in his fall that led to ‘internal and external haemorrhaging.’

The Little Things hitmaker was a beloved UK musician after shooting to fame alongside his former bandmates — Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, and Harry Styles — on X Factor in 2014.

The group released a heartbreaking joint statement yesterday as well as individual tributes dedicated to their ‘brother’.

Payne leaves behind his son, Bear, seven, who he shares with Cheryl Cole, his parents, Geoff and Karen Payne and his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy.

As the world comes to terms with his death, we look at everything we know about his final days and the circumstances leading up to his devastating death.

Liam Payne dropped by record label days before death 

Just days before his death, Payne was reportedly dropped by his label, Universal Music. 

Payne, signed with Universal’s Capitol Records imprint after One Direction announced their hiatus in 2015, but following a recent reshuffle, was being managed under the main label. 

Days prior to his passing however, he was no longer listed as an artist or writer for the label with sources confirming to MailOnline he had been dropped just last week: ‘Liam’s advance was massive and he didn’t recoup [it]. Out of all of the One Direction boys, Liam was on the wrong path musically.’

Liam Payne’s final social media posts

Some of the more heartbreaking details emerging surrounding Payne’s death include his final social media posts, which came less than an hour before news of his passing was first reported.

Posted on Snapchat, the star shared a throwback image of him and Cassidy, 25, posing in a mirror, as well as pictures of his breakfast in his hotel room.

In one video that Payne shared, he joked with the TikToker that she shouldn’t leave her hat on a table and told fans they had been getting up at 1pm every day.

In a picture of himself sitting in a chair, he also told fans that he had decided his Halloween costume would be Forrest Gump.

Perhaps most upsetting, he shared a scenic image of an outdoor lounge area and green grass with the caption: ‘Happy I got some time away’.

There is speculation the pictures and videos had been taken earlier this week as his partner, Cassidy left Argentina two days ago.

The couple had been enjoying a holiday in Argentina, a visit prompted by his former bandmate, Horan’s show in Buenos Aires.

She said in a TikTok vlog made during her trip home: ‘Honestly, love South America but I hate staying in one place for too long. And we were supposed to be there for, like, five days, turned into two weeks. I was just like, “I need to go home.”‘

Payne had also been dealing with some legal difficulties in the days leading up to his death after his ex-fiancee Maya Henry issued a cease and desist on Tuesday and made accusations that he has been ceaselessly contacting her, using different iCloud accounts to continue to reach out.

A source told People magazine that the former One Direction star ‘was extremely overwhelmed by all of the legal issues’.

What happened on the night Liam Payne died?

Police are still putting together the exact events of Payne’s final evening with concern over his mental well-being and possible substance abuse.

They are looking for two women who were said to leave the hotel after waiting in the lobby for the What Makes You Beautiful hitmaker before eventually leaving.

It is believed he was alone at the time of his fall, although some outlets have now stated he ‘jumped’, according to a statement made to AP.

Payne’s alleged behaviour caused concern among hotel staff and the Casa Sur Palermo Hotel desk manager called emergency services to request assistance.

The call was made at 5.04pm local time (9.04pm UK time) and heard the manager say: ‘We need to send someone with urgency because I don’t know if the guest’s life is in danger because he is in a room with balcony, and we are afraid he could do something that threatens life.’

The Telegraph has reported that just seven minutes later, at 5.11pm local time (9.11pm UK), after Police and SAME (Medical Emergency Attention Service) arrived, Payne was pronounced dead.

Photos of Liam Payne’s hotel room

While it’s unclear exactly what occurred in Payne’s hotel room in the moments leading up to his death, the 911 call details the manager’s concerns that the star was ‘breaking everything in the room.’

They told law enforcement: ‘We have a guest drunk with drugs and alcohol. When he [them, gender not clear in conversation] is conscious, he is breaking everything in the room’.

Also, in the call, they said they didn’t know if he was ‘in danger’ but asked for urgent assistance as the room had a balcony.

‘We are afraid he could do something that threatens life,’ they said.

Pictures of his room showed a smashed TV screen along with a table full of white powder, burn marks, and foil.

Empty glasses of wine can be seen in the few images as well as the powder, which police are testing for narcotics.

It is unknown if Payne was conscious while on the balcony or exactly what led up to his tragic death.

Liam Payne was unconscious and ‘convulsing’ moments before death

Brett Watson, from Chicago, a guest who was staying at the same hotel as Payne, spoke to ITV and said he saw the popstar ‘causing a disturbance’ in the hotel lobby soon before his death. 

‘There was an incident where he was very frustrated and was smashing his laptop in the lobby,’ he said.

‘And then the final time he came back down, he actually passed out in the lobby of the hotel, started, looked like [he was] convulsing a little bit and had to be physically taken back up to his room.’

Watson claims the events occurred five minutes before he saw Payne fall to his death. 

Liam Payne’s distressing final words

A 28-year-old woman, reiterated the same claims as Watson, and said she had spoken to Payne during his alleged laptop outburst, making her one of the last people he spoke with. 

The woman, known only as Rebecca, not her real name, told the Daily Mail that she was in the hotel lobby when she came across the star displaying ‘disturbing and weird behaviour’. 

She alleged that he was laying on one of the lobby couches when he appeared to read an email he didn’t like and shouted, ‘f**k this s**t, mate’ before bashing the computer on the ground. 

When she approached him and asked him if he was okay, she claims he distressingly replied: ’I used to be in a boy band – that’s why I’m so f**ked up’.

Rebecca saw him once more before his death and noted he exited the lift and fell flat on his face resulting in a man who appeared to be part of his team, and hotel staff rush to help the star. 

Liam Payne’s autopsy report reveals his cause of death

Alberto Crescenti, a director of emergency medical response service SAME, had revealed yesterday that the injuries Liam sustained in the fall included a broken skull.

Mr Crescenti described those injuries as ‘incompatible with life’ and referred specifically to the head wound, saying: ‘According to the emergency medical team sent to the scene he had a fracture in the base of his skull, extremely serious injuries.’

A preliminary autopsy report also stated his fall led to multiple traumatic injuries and ‘internal and external haemorrhaging’. 

A toxicology report is still pending.

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