Liam Payne’s relatives are said to be preparing for his body to be returned back to the UK, two weeks after the late One Direction star died aged 31
Liam Payne’s body will be flown back to the UK by Monday “at the latest”. His funeral is expected to be taking place next week. It comes almost three weeks after the chart-topping musician tragically fell from the balcony of his hotel room and instantly died.
Undertakers are now said to have moved the late One Direction singer from a Buenos Aires morgue to the 1820s-founded British Cemetery in the northern part of the Argentinian capital after prosecutors gave his heartbroken dad Geoff permission to take him home. And local media are reporting the repatriation will take place tomorrow or Monday – “48 hours maximum” – once the embalming process is finished.
Respected Argentinian daily La Nacion said Geoff had been told personally in a new meeting with prosecution chief Andres Madrea he could return to the UK with Liam’s body two weeks after flying to the south American country following the 31-year-old’s three-storey hotel fall.
It said: “All the documents are ready for the former One Direction singer to return to his homeland so a funeral can take place there next week. When Geoff Payne reached Argentina on October 18 he was told the repatriation process could take between four and five days, but because of the circumstances surrounding his son’s death things took longer than expected.”
Prosecutors have yet to confirm results are back from the toxicology and tissue tests Liam’s dad was told would have to be completed before the repatriation could occur during his first meeting with Mr Madrea on October 21. Liam’s October 16 death at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel sparked a probe which investigators initially linked to a substance-induced ‘psychotic episode’ with no ‘third-party’ involvement.
Police stormed the boutique hotel where he had been staying just over a week ago to examine computers and paperwork in what is thought to have been part of a hunt for his drug dealer amid speculation someone from his hotel was supplying him with narcotics. Argentinian news portal Infobae reported three days earlier forensic experts had discovered traces of cocaine in Liam’s body but tests on a white powder pictured in leaked photos showing the inside of his hotel suite after his death had so far proved “inconclusive.”
Other unconfirmed reports originating in the US claimed a cocktail of drugs including designer narcotic pink cocaine containing MDMA, ketamine, methamphetamine had been found in his system during a partial autopsy along with crack cocaine and benzodiazepine.
Geoff reached Argentina two days after his son’s death and was pictured reading messages at a makeshift shrine fans made outside Liam’s hotel. He also visited the third-floor suite the former One Direction singer was staying in after being given permission to take away his son’s clothes and other belongings which investigators said they had no need for.
Thousands of grieving Liam Payne fans have signed a petition urging that a memorial is erected in honour of the singer, who had been with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy in Argentina before she returned to the States a few days before he died.
His fans are requesting a permanent “structure or mural” is put in place in his home city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands. The British Aires British Cemetery was moved to its current location in 1892. The cemetery contains the war graves of one Royal Navy seaman from World War I and eleven World War II British service personnel.
The update comes after the Mirror revealed one of Liam’s final acts of kindness. Hours before his death, he donated a huge amount of money to 28-year-old Jack, who is fighting Stage 4 B Cell Lymphoma. Liam, who was known for often helping others donated £2.3k to Jack’s GoFundMe page.
But Jack initially had doubts as to whether it was a “prank” or somebody donating under a false name to preserve their anonymity. This, however, changed after Liam’s death. “I thought it was a prank or someone donating under a false name in the interest of preserving their own anonymity, until reports started coming out about Liam’s acts of kindness during his final days.”
He continued: “Once we started seeing other reputable sources saying Liam had donated to my GoFundMe, it became sort of surreal. I’m so thankful and I feel extremely lucky.” Despite Liam’s struggles, the young superstar once again but others before himself which he had done since finding fame in One Direction. Although Liam had been extremely open about his support for charities, Jack admits it “warmed his heart” knowing it was actually the star who personally donated. He said: “It truly warmed my heart knowing he was able to find some sort of peace through the love and support he provided to other people in his final moments.”
