Singer Liam Payne’s medical cause of death has been confirmed in a UK inquest opening as “polytrauma”.
The One Direction star died on 16 October after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires.
Polytrauma is a term for multiple traumatic injuries which have been sustained to a person’s body and organ systems.
The hearing, which was held at Buckinghamshire Coroner’s Court on 17 December, was told it may take “some time” to formally ascertain how the 31-year-old died.
The inquest into Payne’s death in the UK has been adjourned until a pre-inquest review on 6 November, the coroner’s court said.
His medical cause of death was confirmed by Dr Roberto Victor Cohen as “polytrauma”.
The hearing was also told Payne was formally identified “with the assistance of the funeral directors in Buckinghamshire”.
Senior Coroner Crispin Butler said during the hearing: “Whilst there are ongoing investigations in Argentina into the circumstances of Liam’s death, over which I have no legal jurisdiction, it is anticipated that procuring the relevant information to address particularly how Liam came by his death may take some time through the formal channel of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.”
Five people in Argentina have been charged in connection with the death of the 31-year-old star.
The hotel’s manager, Gilda Martin, and its receptionist, Esteban Grassi, as well as Payne’s friend Roger Nores have been charged with manslaughter, Argentina’s prosecutor’s office says.
Ezequiel Pereyra – who also worked at the hotel – and Braian Paiz, a waiter, have been charged with supplying drugs.
‘Multiple trauma’
In November, the prosecutor’s office in Argentina said toxicology tests revealed traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in Payne’s body.
A post-mortem examination determined his cause of death as “multiple trauma” and “internal and external haemorrhage”, as a result of the fall from the hotel balcony.
According to the prosecutor’s office, medical reports also suggested Payne may have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness.
The prosecutor’s office said this ruled out the possibility of a conscious or voluntary act by Payne, and they had concluded the singer did not know what he was doing nor have any comprehension of his actions.
Payne became one of the most recognisable names in pop after appearing on The X Factor and rising to fame with the boyband One Direction in the 2010s before the band went on an indefinite hiatus in January 2016.
The singer’s funeral was held in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, in November.
His former bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik were among the mourners, alongside Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy and his former partner Cheryl, with whom he shares a son.
By BBC News
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