Liam Payne’s death: One Direction members release statements

The former members of the boy band One Direction released a joint statement on the death of their bandmate Liam Payne.

Payne, 31, died after falling from a third-floor balcony at a Buenos Aires hotel on Wednesday.

The bandmates wrote on Instagram, “We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing,” adding that they will “take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly.”

Each then posted their individual tributes on their own social media accounts.

Louis Tomlinson called Payne “a brother” remembering that they were only teenagers when they first met.

“I was instantly amazed by his voice but more importantly as time went on I got a chance to see the kind brother I’d longed all my life for.”

He also said that he “will be the Uncle” Payne’s son Bear would need, “and will tell him stories of how amazing his dad was.”

Niall Horan posted a photo of him and Payne with simply a black heart in the caption. A second image in the Instagram post read, “I’m absolutely devastated about the passing of my amazing friend, Liam. It just doesn’t feel real.”

Zayn Malik posted “Love You Bro” as the caption of a photo of the two of them on Instagram. He also posted a statement writing, “Liam, I have found myself talking out loud to you, hoping you can hear me. I can’t help but think selfishly that there was so many more conversations for us to have in our lives.”

Harry Styles posted a photo of Payne on stage, and like Horan, it was captioned with a black heart. Styles’ statement read, “I am truly devastated by Liam’s passing. His greatest joy was making other people happy, and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it.”

The National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No. 14 said they believe that Payne was alone when he fell from the balcony and he was going through a breakdown due to substance abuse.

A preliminary autopsy showed Payne died from “multiple trauma” and “internal and external hemorrhage” from the fall. There were 25 injuries that corresponded to falling from that height including injuries to his head, thorax, abdomen and limbs, according to the report.

There were no defensive injuries found.

“Payne did not adopt a reflex posture to protect himself and that he could have fallen into a state of semi- or total unconsciousness,” prosecutors said.

More tests, including toxicological tests, were requested to know what was in his system when he died.

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