By Emily Zogbi Celebrity News: Latest Celeb News & Pictures - Us Weekly
Liam Payne's body is being prepared for transfer back to his native United Kingdom from Argentina.
A source confirmed to Us Weekly that Payne's remains would be transferred to the British Cemetery in Chacarita, the largest cemetery in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to "begin the embalming process to preserve the body for the return trip" to London, England where his funeral will take place. Liam's farewell mass will be held at the city's famed Saint Paul's Cathedral, and then he will be buried.
The source also noted that the embalming process "could take about 48 hours," meaning that Liam's father, Geoff Payne, may return to the United Kingdom with his son's body as soon as Monday, November 4. According to another outlet, Argentina's La Nación, Geoff was able to repatriate his son's body after two weeks of bureaucratic processes.
Us confirmed on October 16 that Payne had died last month at age 31 after a fall from a third floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires. He suffered "serious injuries" after falling from a third-story balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, according to the city's emergency service chief Alberto Crescenti. A preliminary autopsy revealed that Payne had died from "internal and external" hemorrhages.
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A partial autopsy report published on October 21 indicated that the One Direction singer also had multiple drugs in his system, including "pink cocaine," cocaine, benzodiazepine and crack, at the time of his fall.
Last month, Dr. Cristian Poletti, a university professor and lawyer who specializes in criminal law, explained in an exclusive interview with Us what would happen with Payne's body following his death. (Poletti is not involved in the case.)
"What is happening with Liam Payne's body is fundamentally that they need to wait for the toxicological reports that usually take from one to two weeks, from 7 to 15 days, and until that result is obtained they will not release the body," Poletti said on October 22, adding that "any death suspected of criminality" would need "a certain amount of time."
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She noted that a toxicology report "takes from 7 to 15 days," adding, "Until those studies are done and everything that has to do with the autopsy of the body is confirmed, they will not release the body, they will not deliver the body to the family."
Poletti continued, "In case they were to deliver it, they will not allow the incineration of the body. Nor will they allow them to take it out of the country. That is, once the body is completely released, the family can do whatever they want. They will allow the release, they will allow the body to travel to its place of origin. Before that, they will not do it."