Authorities are looking into newly collected CCTV footage from the hotel where Liam Payne died to ascertain if he was delivered drugs prior to his fatal fall.
Investigators also began looking into the One Direction star’s cell phone records to determine his communications leading up to the accident. The investigation has intensified as Liam’s father, Geoff Payne, remains in Argentina.
He recently met with public prosecutor official Andres Esteban Madrea, who explained that toxicological and histopathological tests are still pending. Once completed, the results will allow Liam’s body to be returned to his family.
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A source told The Mirror: “It is a painstaking investigation. As the eyes of the world are still wanting to know about Liam’s death, Madrea knows everything from CCTV and phone records to Liam’s post-mortem must done with precision.
“He has told his staff no stone must be left unturned and that the investigation will be led where the evidence takes them. He has personally vowed to Geoff that if criminality is found in any way, those responsible will face the full force of the law.”
Early toxicology findings reportedly detected cocaine in Liam’s system at the time of death, yet local prosecutors cautioned that the preliminary report doesn’t reflect the actual amount present in his bloodstream at his time of death.
Police discovered what seemed to be drugs and alcohol amid the wreckage of broken and burnt items in the singer’s hotel room, leading prosecutors to suspect he had a substance-induced breakdown before his fall. They suggested Liam might have been in a “semi or total unconsciousness” state when he fell.
Liam sustained “extremely serious injuries” after falling into the courtyard of CasaSur Hotel in Buenos Aires’ chic Palmero district last Wednesday. Just moments before his tragic death, the hotel’s front desk manager reported to a 911 operator that there was “a guest drunk with drugs and alcohol” who was “breaking everything in the room”. Shortly thereafter, Liam was found on the ground of the hotel’s eatery, having fallen 45ft from his third-floor balcony.
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