New details are emerging surrounding the death of Liam Payne.
The One Direction singer, who died after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in October 2024, had “concentrations of up to 2.7 grams per liter in [his] blood at the time of death,” Argentina’s National Crime and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No. 14 said in a Friday, February 21, press release.
Payne also had “cocaine metabolites, methylecgonine, benzoylecgomine, cocaethylene and the medication sertraline,” an antidepressant, in his system at the time of his death on October 16, 2024.
Per Alcohol.org, a blood alcohol concentration level of 0.20 to 0.29% can lead to “confusion, feeling dazed and disorientation.” According to the website, “Sensations of pain will change, so if you fall and seriously hurt yourself, you may not notice, and you are less likely to do anything about it. Nausea and vomiting are likely to occur, and the gag reflex will be impaired, which could cause choking or aspirating on vomit. Blackouts begin at this BAC, so you may participate in events that you don’t remember.”
A preliminary autopsy report viewed by Us Weekly last October revealed that Payne died from “multiple injuries involving ‘internal and external hemorrhage.’” It was believed he was in a “state of semi or total unconsciousness” at the time of the fall.
The former One Direction member fell to his death from a balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires last October. He was 31 years old.
Two men accused of selling Payne drugs, Ezequiel Pereyra and Braian Nahuel Paiz, remain behind bars while they await trial on manslaughter charges.
Paiz previously denied selling Payne drugs, but the prosecutor’s office press release confirms that he has been charged “for supplying drugs in exchange for money.”
Pereyra, a CasaSur employee, was charged with allegedly supplying drugs to Payne before his passing. Local outlets reported Pereyra was arrested in January 2025, nearly one week after Paiz, per CBS News. It isn’t clear whether Pereyra has entered a plea in response to the charges against him.
Payne’s friend, Roger Nores, and two more CasaSur employees had manslaughter charges against them dropped earlier this month.
