Toxicology tests show Liam Payne had ‘multiple’ drugs in system: Reports
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Liam Payne died on Oct 16 at the age of 31, after plunging from a third-floor hotel room in Buenos Aires.
PHOTO: UGC
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LOS ANGELES – Pop star Liam Payne had multiple drugs, including crack cocaine and methamphetamine, in his system when he fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Argentina, according to initial toxicology reports cited by US media on Oct 21.
The British singer and former One Direction member died on Oct 16 at the age of 31, after plunging from a third-floor hotel room in Buenos Aires.
American television network ABC News and entertainment news portal TMZ said a cocktail of drugs called “pink cocaine” – containing methamphetamine, ketamine and MDMA – had been found during a partial autopsy, citing anonymous sources familiar with the preliminary tests.
Crack cocaine and benzodiazepine were also listed.
An “improvised aluminium pipe to ingest drugs” was also found in the room, ABC reported.
Payne – who was found dead after staff called emergency services twice to report a guest overwhelmed by drugs and alcohol was destroying a hotel room – had spoken publicly about struggles with substance abuse and coping with fame from an early age.
Post-mortem results indicated that he was alone at the time of the fall and “was going through an episode of substance abuse”, prosecutors had said.
The singer suffered multiple traumas and internal and external haemorrhaging, they said.
The Clarin newspaper published photos last week of what it said was the interior of Payne’s room, with white powder visible on a table next to a piece of aluminium foil and a lighter. The pictures also showed a TV set with a broken screen.
The prosecutor’s office said substances that appeared to be narcotics and alcoholic beverages had been found in the room, amid pieces of broken furniture and other objects.
A hotel employee suspected of providing Payne with drugs on the day he died has been interviewed by officials, but not arrested or charged, local police told ABC News.
Payne was a member of One Direction, the hugely successful pop group whose fame began in 2010 on the British television talent contest The X Factor (2004 to 2018).
One of the highest-grossing live acts in the world, the group went on indefinite hiatus in 2016.
Payne went on to enjoy solo success, but in recent years spoke openly about struggles with alcoholism and fame. He was the father of a seven-year-old boy shared with Girls Aloud star Cheryl. AFP
