Argentine police raid the Buenos Aires hotel where Liam Payne died

Police in Argentina raided the Buenos Aires hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne stayed before he died last week after falling from a third-floor balcony, a government official said Thursday.

A special police investigation unit went to the Casa Sur hotel on Wednesday night by order of the Public Ministry. Agents seized items including computer hard drives and images 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 exclusive and touristy 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 internal courtyard of the hotel.

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The first investigations indicate that the musician was alone and experiencing a “breakdown” due to the consumption 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 boy band star had cocaine in his system, according to a preliminary toxicology report published by local press on Monday and confirmed to the AP by a family source. Final results are not expected to be made public for several weeks.

The Casa Sur hotel has become a place for Payne fans to pay their respects. They have left flowers, candles and photographs of the singer at an improvised altar around a tree at the entrance of the hotel.

The singer’s father, Geoff Payne, is in Buenos Aires organizing 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 his 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 pain.

One Direction was among 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 had posted on his Snapchat account that he 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.

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