The 31-year-old singer died from multiple injuries sustained in a fall that caused both internal and external bleeding.
Payne had jumped from the third floor of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, yesterday afternoon, and medics confirmed his death at the scene.
Two forensic pathologists, Santiago Maffia Bizzozero and Victor Roberto Cohen, conducted the post-mortem and determined the injuries as the cause of death. Additional tests are being conducted to determine whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the incident.
The autopsy took place at a city morgue located on Viamonte Street, approximately 15 minutes from the hotel. Payne’s body was transported there last night for the post-mortem, which is standard for deaths in the city center.
Alberto Crescenti, director of the emergency medical service SAME, disclosed that Payne had suffered a skull fracture from the fall. “He had a fracture at the base of his skull, extremely serious injuries,” Crescenti said.
He also added that Payne was already deceased when paramedics arrived, and attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful as his injuries were “incompatible with life.”
Emergency services identified Payne through his passport, but police have not yet determined the circumstances surrounding his fall. Investigators were still examining the hotel room and balcony late into the night. The courtyard where Payne landed is adjacent to the hotel’s pool and its Michelin-star restaurant, Sarco, though no diners were present at the time.
Payne had been in Argentina earlier this month for his ex-bandmate Niall Horan’s concert, accompanied by his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, who left two days before the incident.
At the same time, his former fiancée, Maya Henry, had instructed her lawyers to send Payne a cease-and-desist letter for alleged repeated contact.
Payne rose to fame at the age of 16 after forming the globally successful boy band One Direction on The X Factor in 2010 alongside Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and Harry Styles.
