On Friday, Geoff Payne, the father of former One Direction member Liam Payne, arrived in Buenos Aires to make arrangements for the return of his son’s body to England. Two days prior, Liam tragically fell to his death from a hotel balcony.
After landing at Buenos Aires International Airport in the early hours, Geoff Payne was seen exiting a downtown hotel in a blue suit, accompanied by British consular officials. He was quickly ushered by security into a black-tinted van.
Geoff then visited the Buenos Aires morgue to identify his son’s body and later went to the local prosecutor’s office to begin the process of repatriating his son’s remains. He also stopped by the Casa Sur Hotel, where Liam had died, to collect his belongings. Outside the hotel, a crowd of grief-stricken fans had gathered for the third consecutive day to pay their respects.
A group of young fans, holding hands in solidarity, controlled the crowd as Geoff Payne made his way past the tributes of flowers, photos, and handwritten notes. He paused at the makeshift memorial, picked up a picture of his son, expressed his gratitude to the fans, and then entered the hotel.
Mara Dorf, a fan at the scene, shared her grief, saying, “I felt sick to my stomach because I couldn’t say goodbye to him.”
This was the first public appearance of any member of the Payne family since Liam’s sudden death, which has prompted an outpouring of grief from fans and fellow celebrities worldwide. The Payne family released a statement soon after his death, expressing their heartbreak and asking for privacy during this painful time. They said, “Liam will forever live in our hearts, and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny, and brave soul.”
Liam Payne had often spoken of the support and love he received from his father, an auto mechanic, and his mother, a nurse, whom he described as hard-working. Both parents made appearances in the 2013 documentary One Direction: This Is Us. In one emotional moment, his mother, Karen, expressed pride in seeing him perform on stage but also admitted how much they missed him.
Details surrounding the 31-year-old singer’s final hours at the Casa Sur Hotel in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires remain unclear. According to Argentine prosecutors, Payne appeared to have consumed large amounts of drugs and alcohol. Investigators reported finding narcotics, alcohol, and broken objects in the room.
It remains unknown whether Liam intentionally jumped or accidentally fell from the third floor. The autopsy revealed that his death resulted from the fall, which caused multiple traumas and internal and external bleeding in his skull, chest, abdomen, and limbs. The toxicology results are still pending.
Investigators noted that there was no evidence of anyone else being involved in his death, nor were there any defensive wounds on his body, suggesting he did not attempt to protect himself during the fall. The prosecutor’s report suggests that Payne may have been in a state of semi-consciousness or unconsciousness at the time of the incident.
A media storm followed the incident, with a celebrity news outlet facing heavy backlash for publishing a cropped image that allegedly showed Payne’s body, identifiable by his tattoos, lying on a wooden deck after his fall. The image was later removed amid widespread criticism.
On Friday, Cheryl, Payne’s former girlfriend and mother of his son Bear, posted a heartfelt statement on Instagram in response to the media coverage. She expressed concern that their son would one day see the insensitive and exploitative reports surrounding his father’s death. She pleaded for some dignity and peace for Liam in the aftermath of his passing.