Liam Payne's Blood Alcohol Level Was Extremely High

At the time of his death, it was just below a level that could be lethal, prosecutors say
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 26, 2025 1:51 PM CST
Liam Payne's Blood Alcohol Level Was Extremely High
A picture of former One Direction singer Liam Payne is surrounded with flowers and candles as part of a makeshift memorial outside the hotel where he fell from a balcony to his death, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Oct. 17, 2024.   (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)

Before his fatal fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires last year, Liam Payne was about as intoxicated as a person can be without losing consciousness, according to a report released by prosecutors. It states that the One Direction singer had "alcohol concentrations of up to 2.7 grams per liter in blood at the time of death," People reports. That works out to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.27%, more than triple the legal limit for drivers in the US, reports Billboard. According to the Cleveland Clinic, at levels higher than 0.30%, people generally "have alcohol poisoning, a potentially life-threatening condition, and experience loss of consciousness."

Between 0.15% and 0.30%, "you may experience confusion, vomiting, and drowsiness," the Cleveland Clinic says. The report said an autopsy also found cocaine metabolites, methylecgonine, benzoylecgomine, cocaethylene, and the medication sertraline, also known as Zoloft, in the 31-year-old's system. Argentinian prosecutors released the report as part of the case against two people accused of supplying Payne with cocaine. (Charges against three other people, including two hotel employees, were dropped last week.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X