The father of One Direction member Liam Payne visited the hotel Friday where his son plunged to his death from a third-floor balcony two days earlier, thanking fans gathered nearby in a shared moment of grief.
As heartfelt tributes and touching eulogies continued to pour in from around the world, Geoff Payne landed in Buenos Aires Friday morning, then visited the morgue where the body of his son, 31, is being kept pending the results of toxicological tests.
Payne then went to the hotel where the tragedy happened, stopping for a silent moment at the makeshift shrine his son’s fans had erected on the sidewalk with photos, flowers, letters and candles.
The older Payne read some of the messages, kissed a few photos and mouthed thanks to those gathered for their support. Some broke out in tears.
Payne died from “multiple traumas” and “internal and external hemorrhaging” after falling from the balcony of his room at the Casa Sur hotel in central Buenos Aires Wednesday, an autopsy found.
Investigators said he appeared to have been “going through an episode of substance abuse.”
As the outpouring of grief from loved ones and fans continued Friday, fellow British stars Ed Sheeran and Robbie Williams expressing their shock.
Sheeran wrote on Instagram that Payne’s death was “just such a heartbreaking situation,” while Robbie Williams, who like Payne has a history of addiction, expressed “shock, sadness and confusion.”
“Liam’s trials and tribulations were very similar to mine, so it made sense to reach out and offer what I could. So I did,” said Williams, who had met Payne and the rest of One Direction on British talent show The X Factor.
Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy said his sudden death had left her “at a complete loss.”
“Nothing about the past few days have felt real,” she posted on Instagram.
“Liam, my angel, you are everything… I will continue to love you for the rest of my life.”
– ‘Completely devastated’ –
The autopsy suggested Payne had not tried to break his fall and was in a state of “semi or total unconsciousness” before his death.
The singer, who had spoken publicly about struggles with alcohol and coping with fame from an early age, was alone at the time of the fall, prosecutors said.
He was found dead after hotel staff called emergency services twice to report “a guest who is overwhelmed by drugs and alcohol, and destroying his room,” according to leaked audio.
Two women who had been with Payne in his room — but left before his fall — have been questioned by police, according to local press reports.
His former One Direction band mates, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, said they were “completely devastated” by his death.
Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC also offered their condolences, along with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Payne had been in Argentina to attend a concert by Niall Horan.
Argentine media published photos which they said showed the interior of his hotel room, with white powder on a table next to a piece of aluminum foil and a lighter, and a television with a broken screen.
Payne is father to a seven-year-old boy, Bear, with Girls Aloud star Cheryl Tweedy.
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