Buenos Aires City Police are raiding Liam Payne’s hotel for intel on employees who worked the day of his death.
Sources close to the investigation told Us Weekly on Wednesday, October 23, that a raid was underway at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where Payne died October 16 after falling off the balcony of his third-floor hotel room. The former One Direction member was 31 years old.
The sources said police intended to identify Casa Sur staffers who had been working on the day of Payne’s death and in the days before. As part of their raid, they were seeking documents within the hotel’s registration books as well as information from its computers.
The insiders claim that “the hotel must provide” more security camera footage following the tragedy.
On Tuesday, October 22, the Argentine Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to Us that Payne’s father, Geoff Payne, had spoken to the case’s prosecutor, Dr. Andres Esteban Madrea, about “his desire to investigate and to know what happened” with Liam. Geoff also expressed that he will share with authorities what he knows about his son’s life that could potentially aid the investigation.
Geoff will remain in Argentina under “dynamic police custody until the end of the judicial proceedings and given his state of logical commotion due to the death of his son,” per the prosecutor’s office. According to Madrea, the office’s top priority is to preserve “the privacy of the family of the former member of the band One Direction.”
The singer suffered several “serious injuries” from his fall and was pronounced dead at the scene, per Buenos Aires emergency services chief Alberto Crescenti.
According to a 911 phone call, a hotel receptionist phoned the authorities to report a guest who was “high on drugs” and “trashing” their room. The caller believed the unnamed guest “may be in danger,” per the BBC.
Days after Payne’s death, ABC reported that his partial autopsy showed that he had “pink cocaine” — a recreational drug that typically mixes methamphetamine, ketamine and MDMA — cocaine, benzodiazepine and crack in his system at the time.
In addition to his dad, Payne is survived by his mother Karen, older sisters Ruth and Nicola and 7-year-old son Bear whom he shared with ex Cheryl Cole.
“We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul,” his family told the BBC in a statement. “We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space at this awful time.”
With reporting by Luciana Arias
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