“COMPLETELY DEVASTATED”
Payne shot to stardom as a teenager alongside Styles, Horan, Tomlinson and Malik after their appearance on the UK talent show The X Factor 14 years ago.
He died from “multiple traumas” and “internal and external haemorrhaging” after the fall from the hotel room, a post-mortem examination found.
The balcony attached to his room overlooked a rear patio that was about 14 metres high.
Hotel staff had called emergency services twice to report a guest “overwhelmed by drugs and alcohol” who was “destroying” a hotel room.
Investigators have said he was alone at the time and appeared to have been “going through an episode of substance abuse”.
In a short statement following his death, Payne’s family said: “We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul.”
One Direction said they had been “completely devastated” by his death.
After forming in 2010, the band went on to release an album of radio-ready songs each year in time for the holiday shopping season and became one of the highest-grossing live acts in the world.
In 2016, after Malik left, the group said it was on an indefinite hiatus but not splitting up.
Payne’s first solo single Strip That Down peaked at number three on the UK charts and number 10 on the US Billboard top songs list.
But in recent years he had spoken publicly about struggles with substance abuse and coping with fame from an early age.
His last solo work, the single Teardrops, was released in March, with a second album announced at the time.
Payne was born and raised in Wolverhampton, central England.
