Liam Payne was a famous singer and was a part of a worldwide renowned band called One Direction.
One Direction was a viral sensation and is still seen as one of the biggest bands since The Beatles, gaining the hearts of many across the world.
Payne had a fatal ‘accident’ two months ago on October 16, 2024. However, the case has recently been brought back up in the news under speculation that Payne’s death wasn’t an accident but a murder.. Five people have been charged under connection to the death. News of this passing had spread fast and caused people across the world to begin mourning.
“When I learned Liam had died I was in complete shock,” Highlands teacher Meredith Reber said. “I just felt complete sadness for him, his family, and his friends and I still can’t believe it.”
Payne’s death has shocked and devastated everyone around the world, but the truth of his death is still being questioned. To be able to determine the truth, many different teams of people need to work together, for instance, people working on forensics.
“The process is the same, but resources involved in the forensic process could differ due to expenses,” forensics teacher Shih Wen said.
During the forensic process of Payne’s death, toxicology and autopsies are used to look for different factors that could have caused his death.
“Autopsies are usually requested by family members and are run if there is foul play expected,” Wen said. “To get a toxicology blood is drawn, if the person is incapacitated like a drunk driver they can get their blood drawn with no search warrant because they have a limited time to get that evidence.”
There are many legal processes involved in Payne’s death as well. Some of the most significant processes are how his estates and music rights will be managed.
“They look at two separate things..there’s sort of the business side of the estate and then the personal end of the estate,” middle school law teacher Jason Harnish said. “Personal can be easy because they usually just go to family but with business like music you might have a company that might own the rights to some albums or some pieces of art which can complicate the business side of this.”
As the investigation into Payne’s death goes on, the protection of his privacy is also taken into account. While the public wants to know exactly what happened, there are different rules and boundaries about sharing information about his death, usually created by family.
“Privacy laws are mostly utilized or engaged in by families who want the privacy for their family members out of respect,” Harnish said.
People working in law and forensics are still investigating Payne’s death, his death is also bringing attention to another factor that could’ve led to his death; mental health issues.
“When the public leaves a negative impression on a person it can lead others to do the same and to not care,” Olive Lecky (9) said. “I think Liam’s death will allow more people to start speaking up about their struggles.”
While Payne’s death is still being investigated, his fans are finding ways to cope as well as ways to honor and remember him and his legacy. Some ways fans have done so include listening to his music, watching past interviews, and many more.
“Liam’s legacy he left is that he gives as much of himself as possible and tries to make everyone feel the best even when he’s struggling,” Reber said. “His death has brought back all the One direction fans back together on this sad occasion.”
