Liam Payne’s grieving father has been advised that he may have to wait ten days for permission to carry his son’s body home.
Last week, Geoff Payne traveled to Buenos Aires to properly identify and bring home his son, the 31-year-old former One Direction member who died from a hotel balcony.
The 66-year-old motor technician went to the morgue where his son was being detained and spoke with officials from the Argentine Ministry of Justice, who are examining the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
He then went to the boutique CasaSur Palermo Hotel, where his son died, and thanked fans for their tributes and vigils.
A post-mortem revealed that the singer died from various injuries sustained when falling 45 feet from the balcony of his room in the Palermo neighborhood of the city.
However, prosecutors are classifying his death as ‘inconclusive’ while they await toxicology data.
Liam Payne’s heartbroken father, Geoff Payne (pictured with his son’s fans last week), has been warned he could have to wait ten days for permission to take his son’s body home
Liam Payne is pictured with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy before his untimely death last Wednesday
The singer died abruptly at age 31 after falling from the third storey of the CasaSur hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
And last night, the chief investigator, Prosecutor Andrés Esteban Madrea, warned Mr Payne that the examination results from the laboratory may take up to ten days and that he would be unable to take his son’s body home until then.
‘Geoff has been advised that the tests may take ten days before he can take Liam home,’ a family friend stated.
‘He is finding the whole scenario quite difficult. Geoff was heartbroken after losing his son.
‘But he has determined to do right by Liam and will not leave without him.
‘He is having a terrible time dealing with the uncertainty of not knowing when this ordeal will end.
‘Argentine officials expect the results to take ten days, but it might be far sooner.’
Mr. Payne met with the prosecutor in charge of the investigation into his son’s death, Andrés Esteban Madrea of the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No. 14, last night.
Mr Madrea updated Mr Payne on the status of the case and considered whether the contents of the cases should be kept private.
Liam Payne is pictured after The X Factor final in 2010 with his parents Geoff and Karen
Fans of Liam Payne cry during a memorial gathering at Santa Ana Square in Madrid on the weekend
Liam Payne ‘s heartbroken sister Ruth shared this previously unseen picture of her and her brother following his death last week
Liam Payne is pictured with his mother, father and two sisters. The singer’s family paid tribute to the 31-year-old last week, saying they were ‘heartbroken’ following his death
The singer had two older sisters, Nicola and Ruth, making him the youngest of three siblings. Mr Payne is pictured with Ruth on her wedding day in 2022
Liam Payne is pictured with his family members in happier times before the tragedy
Geoff Payne said he wanted the case to be transparent and open.
He added that he was willing to ‘testify about everything he knows about his son’s life that could help the investigation’.
The prosecutor told Mr Payne the ‘toxicological and histopathological’ examinations of his son’s remains had not yet been completed, and that he could not release the body until he had the results.
Mr Madrea added that forensic examinations were also being carried out on ‘mobile phones, computers, photographs and videos from security cameras’ found at the hotel.
He told Mr Payne that hotel staff were being questioned amid claims that his son, who had ditched his abuse of drugs and alcohol, had been preyed on by drug dealers at the boutique venue.
Mr Madrea also offered Mr Payne police protection due to the high-profile nature of his son’s death.
In a statement Argentina’s Ministry of Justice said: ‘The head of the National Prosecutor’s Office in Criminal and Correctional Matters No. 14, Andrés Esteban Madrea, met yesterday with Geoff Payne, the father of British musician Liam James Payne, who was found dead last Wednesday in a hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, to inform him in person about the progress of the investigation.
Flowers and tributes for One Direction’s Liam Payne are left on a stone plinth at Cathedral Gardens on October 21
One heartwarming message said ‘Payno forever 31’, while others laid out candles in the shape of a heart
Photos of Mr. Payne and his One Direction bandmates were left in tribute in Manchester.
‘A representative from the Public Prosecutor’s Office advised the father that toxicological and histopathological examinations in addition to the autopsy had not yet been finished, and the results were required to decide whether to release the body.
Meanwhile, as part of the investigation, cell phones, computers, pictures, and security camera films are being examined, all of which require more time to analyze.
‘Additionally, several witness testimonies have been obtained to reconstruct the victim’s last hours and the site of the events, a process that is currently ongoing and includes hotel workers, acquaintances, technical and medical specialists, and others connected to the victim through his job.
Furthermore, because the victim is a British citizen, the diplomatic representation of the United Kingdom was informed about the judicial processes involving the case, and their offer of participation was taken into consideration.
“To respect the victim’s memory, all developments arising from the investigation will first be communicated to the family, and given the musician’s high public profile, communication will be limited to the institutional channels of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.”
Prosecutor Andreas Esteban Madrea has taken some of Argentina’s most high-profile cases to trial.
Mr Madrea obtained a 12-year sentence for a priest who raped two nuns, he prosecuted corrupt town hall officials who allowed an unsafe nightclub to remain open, killing two and injuring 50, and he obtained a $2 million fine against former Boca Juniors football star Alberto Marcico for fraud and breach of contract.
Officials also revealed yesterday that, in addition to the current forensic testing, investigators were still analysing’mobile phones, computers, pictures, and CCTV footage’, stating that ‘these will require a longer time of analysis.’
Last week, prosecutors stated that they had examined three hotel personnel and two women who had spent time with the One Direction star prior to his death.
They stated today that the investigation into the singer’s final hours was still ongoing, interviewing ‘hotel workers, acquaintances, technical and medical professionals, and other people associated to him through his job.’
Mr Payne is known to have spent time with Argentine businessman Rogelio Nores, who is said to have provided a statement to authorities.
The singer’s family has been told that they will be the first to hear any fresh information, following the leak of photos from Liam’s hotel room last week, which were published in Argentinian media and revealed a white powder on a desk that is still being investigated.
Prosecutors have classified the death as ‘inconclusive’, although there is no evidence at this time pointing to any third-party involvement. They believe he may have jumped from his balcony while ‘in a state of semi or total unconsciousness’ during a substance-induced psychotic episode.
Mr. Payne died of severe trauma injuries that produced “internal and external hemorrhaging,” according to the initial autopsy done last Wednesday night.
A hotel manager called 911, the UK equivalent of 999, last Wednesday afternoon, shortly before the singer died, to report: ‘We have a guest who’s out of his mind on drugs and is destroying everything in his room. We need somebody to come.
In a second call, he added, “We need you to send someone urgently because, well, I’m not sure if the guest’s life is in danger.” They must be in a room with a balcony. And we are concerned that he will do something that will endanger his life.
Police investigating who provided Mr Payne with the narcotics he is suspected of consuming before his death are believed to have inquired whether his dealer was a hotel employee.
Friends of the artist have stated that he was clean just days before the tragedy.
According to sources close to the musician, he arrived in Argentina on September 30 and was forced to extend his stay due to complications renewing his expiring American visa.
He arrived with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy, but she departed Buenos Aires to return to the United States shortly before the catastrophe.