Grim photos show Liam Payne’s trashed hotel room littered with drugs, as cops ramp up search for dealer: report
Shocking images allegedly show drugs and drink in Liam Payne’s smashed-up hotel room after he fell to his death from the balcony, as police are hunting for his dealer, according to local reports.
The images — verified by Argentina’s biggest newspaper, La Nacion — reportedly show a smashed television, a half-empty glass of what appeared to be champagne, and foil and powder scattered across Payne’s third-floor room at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel.
Photos of a desk show a Dove soap packet, an empty glass and the remains of a burned candle and the burned top of a drink can — along with traces of a white powder that authorities will test to confirm suspicions it could be cocaine, La Nacion reported.
There was also wax and burned foil in the bathtub, according to La Nacion, which said the images were verified by official sources involved in the death investigation.
Argentinian officials received a 911 call around 5 p.m. about an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” according to Pablo Policicchio, communications director for the Buenos Aires Security Ministry.
Policicchio claimed Wednesday that the 31-year-old singer “had jumped from the balcony of his room.”
Sources close to the investigation also told the newspaper that Payne’s body was found on the ground floor with “a bottle of whiskey, a lighter and a cellphone.”
Police also found several blister packs of medication, including Clonazepam, energy drinks and other over-the-counter remedies, the outlet reported.
Verification of the startling photographs came as Argentinian officials vow to hunt down the drug dealer who provided Payne the illicit substances found inside his room, the outlet reported.
Throughout his career, both while with One Direction and after the band split up, Payne had gone to rehab at least twice for alcohol addiction — and previously opened up about how his addiction made him feel suicidal.
“I was worried how far my rock bottom was going to be. Where’s rock bottom for me? And you would never have seen it. I’m very good at hiding it. No one would ever have seen it,” Payne said during a 2021 appearance on the “The Diary of a CEO” podcast.
The singer fractured his skull and died instantly from “very serious injuries” after the sudden fall, medical officials confirmed Thursday.
First responders rushed to the CasaSur Palermo Hotel after receiving an emergency call from the frantic manager late Wednesday but there was nothing they could do to save him, Buenos Aires emergency services chief Alberto Crescenti said.
“Our role was to head there quickly, give medical attention, and try to resuscitate him, but his injuries were incompatible with life,” the top medic said, according to La Nacion.
“Based on what the team saw, there was apparently a cranial fracture and extremely serious injuries that led to his immediate death.”
He added: “The team could do absolutely nothing. There was no resuscitation because it was confirmed that he had died. The whole body had very serious injuries.”
The singer’s body has since been sent for an autopsy, officials said.
Payne sprang into stardom when he auditioned for “The X Factor” in 2010 when he was just 16. He was placed in the boy band One Direction, alongside Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson and the group became a global phenomenon.
The band’s split started in 2015 when Malik left the group in the middle of their world tour. One Direction went on an indefinite hiatus the following year.
Payne leaves behind a son, Bear, 7, with his ex, singer Cheryl Cole.
With Post wires
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
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