Liam Payne could have been under the influence of Cristal – a drug known to cause psychotic attacks and hallucinations – when he died in Argentina.
The 31-year-old fell from the third floor balcony of the CasaSur hotel in Buenos Aires on Wednesday night. He is reported to have been acting ‘erratically’ in the hours before the tragedy.
Police in Buenos Aires have now claimed they are probing whether the One Direction star was high on the potent substance known as Cristal. The drug can cause extreme highs and extreme lows to users and make them aggressive, the Mirror reports.
Officers told TMZ that Liam’s behaviour sounded consistent of Cristal users but they have not confirmed the drug was present in the room. Testing on substances recovered from his hotel suite are still underway.
Images of inside the hotel showed white powder, tin foil, candle wax and a smashed TV screen. Officials have not commented or provided any official information to support or rubbish the unconfirmed claims.
A preliminary autopsy showed the singer had died of multiple trauma injuries – including a skull fracture – which had caused “internal and external haemorrhaging.”
The transcript of a 911 call made by hotel staff, revealed the hotel manager tell emergency services: “We have a guest who’s off his head on drugs and is destroying everything in his room. We need someone to come.”
The manager called back for a second time and said the guest’s life was ‘in danger’ as they expressed concern about the balcony in Liam’s room. The manager said: “We need you to send someone urgently because, well, I don’t know if the guest’s life is in danger. They must be in a room that has a balcony. And well, we’re a little bit worried he’ll do something, that he’ll put his life at risk.”
Local media reports suggested a drug called Clonazepam, used to control seizures or fits due to epilepsy as well panic attacks, was removed from Liam’s hotel room.
Last night his devastated dad travelled to the hotel where he had been staying. Geoff Payne was pictured in a navy suit exiting the Casa Sur Hotel in the Argentine capital, where the 31-year-old British star fell from a third floor balcony on Wednesday.
Mr Payne is said to have flown to the country to organise the repatriation of his son, the Associated Press has reported.
In a video shared on the BBC, Mr Payne was seen visiting tributes laid out by fans outside the hotel, reading letters and pausing around flowers, photographs and candles.
It comes after the singer’s family said they were “heartbroken” following his death, adding: “Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul.”
Liam’s ex-partner Cheryl also paid tribute to the young star, writing his death was “indescribably painful”.
“As I try to navigate this earth shattering event, and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time, I’d like to kindly remind everyone that we have lost a human being,” she wrote in a post on Instagram.
Sharing a black and white picture of Payne in bed with his young son Bear, she added: “Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our 7 year old son. A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again.”
The 41-year-old concluded the statement urging people to give Payne “the little dignity he has left in the wake of his death to rest in some peace at last”.
Her statement came after Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy said she was at a “complete loss” following his death.
“Nothing about the past few days have felt real,” she said in a post on her Instagram story.
“Liam, my angel, you are everything. I want you to know I loved you unconditionally and completely. I will continue to love you for the rest of my life. I love you Liam.”
Simon Cowell told how he was “truly devastated” after the death of the singer, adding that he also felt “heartbroken” and “empty”.
Liam found fame alongside Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles when The X Factor creator Cowell put them together to form One Direction on the ITV talent show in 2010.
“Every tear I have shed is a memory of you,” he wrote in a statement on Instagram.
The 65-year-old titan of the music industry said his son Bear “will be so proud of everything you achieved, and how you achieved it”.
Payne first auditioned for The X Factor in 2008 when he was 14, singing Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me To The Moon, with judge Cowell telling him to return to the talent show two years later.
In 2010 he impressed the judges with a rendition of Michael Buble’s Cry Me A River before being put with four other solo hopefuls at the boot camp stage of the competition – the group which later became One Direction.
“I had to tell you when you were 14 that this wasn’t your time. And we both made a promise that we would meet again. A lot of people would have given up. You didn’t,” Cowell said.
He also said that Payne had visited him last year where they “reminisced about all of the fun times we had together”.
“After you left, I was reminded that you were still the sweet, kind boy I had met all of those years ago,” he added.
It came after Horan was the last bandmate to share a touching tribute, saying he will “cherish every moment” he had with Payne “forever”.
Payne was spotted dancing at Horan’s show around two weeks ago at the Movistar Arena alongside his girlfriend Cassidy in Argentina.
“I feel so fortunate that I got to see him recently. I sadly didn’t know that after saying goodbye and hugging him that evening, I would be saying goodbye forever. It’s heartbreaking,” Horan wrote.
Payne’s other bandmembers also paid separate emotional tributes on social media, while a joint statement from the band said they were “completely devastated” and will miss the singer “terribly”, adding the “memories we shared with him will be treasured forever”.
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