Overview
- More than 3,000 police documents and photographs released to the press in August 2026 include CCTV stills, hotel messages and a grainy image of Payne on a pole that investigators say is significant to the probe.
- The files reconstruct Payne’s last day and show hotel staff bringing alcohol to his room, him meeting two sex workers in the lobby, and a worried employee calling 911 shortly before his fall on October 16, 2024.
- Post‑mortem toxicology found multiple substances in his system, with reports identifying cocaine, crack, ketamine and alcohol among the drugs detected.
- Argentine prosecutors have pursued drug‑supply charges against two hotel workers while other earlier charges against additional suspects were later dropped or are being resolved through negotiations.
- Investigators now weigh a developing accidental‑slip theory based on photos showing upper‑body strength, family statements that Payne was not himself that day, and remaining unanswered questions that keep the legal inquiry active.