Liam Payne's Autopsy Report Confirms Cause of Death as "Polytrauma," but What Is That?

Fans were struck with horrible news on Oct. 16, 2024, when it was announced that Liam Payne, pop star and former One Direction singer, had died at the age of 31. Liam has struggled in recent years, but no one could have predicted his tragic death at such a young age.

Although it was known that Liam died after a fall from his balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, little was known about the details surrounding his death. A new autopsy report reveals the cause, but may leave fans with more questions than answers. Here's what we know.

Whenever a star passes away young and unexpectedly, the rumors will start. People will wonder if he was on drugs, if he was suicidal, or what other demons may have plagued him. Unfortunately, in Liam's case, it seems as though the worst assumptions may have grounding in reality.

The Sistema de Atencio Medica de Emergencia in Buenos Aires where Liam died shared the following statement with Telemundo, part of NBCUniversal:

“British musician Liam James Payne, composer and guitarist, former member of the band One Direction, died today after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Palermo. In the afternoon, police personnel from Precinct 14B were directed to the hotel by a 911 call reporting an aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”

The call, which doesn't use Liam's name, was made just prior to the singer's death. When they arrived, medics found that Liam had "jumped from the balcony" of his room, and had sustained "extremely serious" injuries. He was pronounced dead on the scene. The autopsy report says that Liam's death was due to "polytrauma and internal and external bleeding." And it listed the death as "doubtful/undetermined" which means there are still unknown circumstances around his cause of death.

Polytrauma is a catch-all term that means a person has sustained multiple serious injuries. A number of substances were seized from Liam's hotel room after his death, which "prove[s] a previous situation of alcohol and drugs consumption." The autopsy found “multiple traumatic injuries” and “internal and external bleeding” which came from 25 injuries "compatible with those produced by a fall from height." An investigation is ongoing.

According to the autopsy report, Liam didn't adopt a defensive posture during his fall which suggests that he may have been either unconscious or semi-conscious before he fell. Toxicology tests are pending to determine if he was intoxicated and to what extent. Ultimately, knowing how Liam died doesn't really answer the questions most pressing to those who love him. And it's clear from the headlines he's made over the years that Liam had struggled with fame in adulthood.

After One Direction split in 2015, he struggled with alcohol addiction, although he announced recently he was sober. And despite negative headlines with his ex-fiancée over the years, he continued to make music.

Whatever ultimately led to Liam's death, a series of choices and struggles led him to that room and the balcony where he lost his life. His cause of death clarifies that his ending was tragically violent, but not what may have gone through his head in the minutes prior to losing his life.

It's normal for people to seek answers when someone dies suddenly and tragically. But those answers aren't always forthcoming, because sometimes they simply don't exist. We may discover more about what Liam was doing before he died and whether or not he was intoxicated, but we'll never know exactly how he was feeling or what decisions he may have made. For now, all shocked fans can do is honor his memory and reconcile themselves to the fact that he's gone and left behind a legacy of music.

Liam is survived by his 7-year-old child, Bear; his parents, Karen and Geoff Payne; and his sisters, Ruth and Nicola.