BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The circumstances surrounding the death of former One Direction singer Liam Payne were suspicious and possibly drug-related, although there were no signs that a third party was involved, Argentine prosecutors said Thursday .

Payne, 31, who died on Wednesday, rose to fame as a teenager and struggled with the pressure of becoming known worldwide.

News of his death spread around the world, among fans and in the media swarmed the Casa Sur Hotel in the chic Palermo district of the Argentine capital, where Payne was found dead after falling from his third-floor hotel room. All four of Payne's former One Direction bandmates issued a joint statement saying they were “completely devastated.”

“The memories we shared with him will be remembered forever,” reads the letter signed by Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson. “As time goes on and everyone is able, there will be more to say.”

Buenos Aires police said they found Payne's hotel room “in complete disarray” with broken items and furniture. They found packages of clonazepam, a central nervous system depressant, energy supplements and over-the-counter medications scattered throughout his belongings. The Argentine prosecutor said there also appeared to be alcohol and narcotics in the room.

Forensics teams reported that a whiskey bottle, a lighter and a cell phone were recovered from the courtyard of the building where Payne's body was found.

The prosecutor said the autopsy revealed internal bleeding and 25 traumatic injuries to the skull, limbs and abdomen, consistent with a fall. It was said that these injuries alone were enough to cause his death.

There was no sign that a third party was involved, it said, but described Payne's case as “suspicious”, citing the likelihood that the star had consumed alcohol and drugs. The requested toxicology tests could take weeks to complete.

The lack of defensive injuries on Payne's hands suggested he may have fallen into a state of unconsciousness, the prosecutor said, and there was evidence that Payne was “experiencing some sort of substance abuse episode” at the time.

All signs pointed to Payne being alone at the time of his death, the prosecutor added.

Medical examiners gave the cause of death as “multitrauma” and “internal and external bleeding.” Authorities said they recorded statements from three hotel employees and two women who had visited Payne in his hotel room hours earlier to reconstruct Payne's final moments.

The two women were leaving the hotel at the time of the incident, the prosecutor said.

Hardcore fans from home and abroad flocked to the hotel where Payne died to cry, sing and pay their respects. One music-loving supporter belted out a One Direction song and played along on his guitar, while others sang along and filmed on their phones.

Several girls with tear-stained cheeks stopped and sat in trance-like silence in front of a makeshift monument of candles and colorful flowers that spilled out in abundance onto the cordoned-off street in front of the hotel. Some fans taped portraits of Payne and handwritten notes with sad slogans like “Always in my heart” to a tree trunk.

At the city's central obelisk, a few kilometers away, the usual mix of food vendors, tourists and homeless people gave way Thursday afternoon to a gathering of mostly young female fans united in mourning.

On Wednesday, police said Payne “jumped from the balcony of his room,” without elaborating on how she came to that conclusion or whether the jump was intentional. Police said they rushed to the hotel in response to a 911 call shortly after 5pm local time warning of erratic behavior from an intoxicated guest.

In a 911 recording obtained by The Associated Press, a hotel manager can be heard saying that the hotel “has a guest who is in over his head with drugs and alcohol.” … He's destroying the entire room and, well, we need you to send someone, please.”

Tributes continued to pour in on Thursday from personalities in the pop industry and fellow musicians.

Payne was known as the disheveled, sensible man of the quintet, which went from a TV talent show to a pop phenomenon with a huge international following of enthusiastic fans. He admitted on a YouTube channel that he had struggled with alcoholism in recent years video published in July 2023 that he had been sober for six months after treatment.

“We are heartbroken. “Liam will live in our hearts forever and we will remember him for his kind, funny and courageous soul,” his family said in a statement through Payne’s rep. “We support each other as a family as best we can and ask for privacy and space during this terrible time.”

Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, who performed with One Direction in 2014, said he was “shocked and sad.” The Backstreet Boys said in a social media post that their hearts go out to “directors around the world.”

In previous interviews, Payne alluded to the grueling consequences of growing up against the surreal backdrop of the entertainment industry.

“I don't think you'll ever be able to handle this. “It's all a little crazy for us to see people getting into such a mood about us and what we do,” he told the AP in 2013, recounting an experience in which a fan in one He was in a state of shock when he met him.

One Direction announced an indefinite “hiatus” in 2016 and Payne – like each of his former bandmates – pursued a solo career and shifted towards EDM and hip-hop.

While former One Direction singer Harry Styles became a major solo star, the others had more modest success. Payne's 2017 single “Strip That Down” featuring Quavo reached the Billboard Top 10 and stayed on the charts for several months. He wiped out an album “LP1” in 2019 and his most recent release – a single called “Teardrops” – was released in March.

In 2020, to mark One Direction's 10th anniversary, Payne shared a screenshot of a text message he sent to his father the day he joined the group that read, “I'm in a boy band. “

“What a journey… I had no idea what was in store for us when I sent that text message to my dad years ago, right around the time the band was forming,” he wrote.

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Associated Press journalists Natacha Pisarenko and Almudena Calatrava reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina.