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The mystery surrounding Liam Payne’s tragic death is somehow becoming even more complicated.
Nearly 19 months after the former One Direction star died following a fall from a hotel balcony in Argentina, a British coroner says officials still don’t have enough information to formally close the case.
According to TMZ, Buckinghamshire Senior Coroner Crispin Butler revealed during a pre-inquest hearing on Thursday that authorities in the United Kingdom have yet to receive key evidence from Argentina.
“We have had no further disclosure of evidence from Argentina via the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office,” Butler told the court, per the outlet.
That’s a pretty shocking update considering how much time has already passed since Payne’s October 2024 death stunned fans around the world.
During an earlier review hearing held in January 2025, Dr. Roberto Victor Cohen reportedly stated that Payne died from polytrauma, meaning multiple traumatic injuries sustained during the fall.
But Butler explained at the time that investigators still needed complete reports and eyewitness statements before officially determining the singer’s cause of death.
Now, more than a year later, that process still appears to be stalled.
According to TMZ, Butler suggested the ongoing investigation in Argentina may be contributing to the delay, adding that some of the documents already received had gone through translation before being reviewed.
As you may recall, Payne died after falling from the balcony of his room at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires. He was just 31 years old.
Initial reports from Argentine officials stated that he suffered catastrophic injuries consistent with a high fall.
In the months following his death, investigators examined whether drugs and alcohol played a role in the tragedy. Prosecutors in Argentina later stated they did not believe Payne died by suicide.
Three people who are believed to have provided Payne with drugs in his final days have already been cleared of manslaughter charges.
The singer’s death sparked enormous global mourning, particularly among longtime One Direction fans who had followed Payne since the group’s meteoric rise on The X Factor more than a decade earlier.
Even now, with so many questions still unanswered, the investigation continues to cast a heartbreaking shadow over Payne’s final days.
