New details have emerged about how Liam Payne spent his final hours at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina — and the investigation has raised some serious questions.
Argentine police released CCTV footage that appears to show Payne being carried by three men, believed to be hotel employees, back to his third-floor room minutes before his death. The former One Direction singer was under the influence of drugs and alcohol, according to his autopsy, and allegedly had caused multiple disturbances in the lobby in the days leading up to his death. However, Payne appears conscious in the video as he holds his head upright while carried. Shortly after he was taken back to his hotel room, the singer fell to his death.
TMZ obtained the police report that claims Payne may have been trying to escape his room via the balcony when he fell. Some witness accounts allegedly support the theory. Payne had a bag strapped around his shoulder when his body was recovered, which he did not have in the lobby video from just before the incident. A hotel employee also discovered a brown duffel bag on the second-floor balcony directly below his room. There was a note that purportedly said “for Liam” with pills and a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. One theory is that he dropped the bag down before attempting to escape from his balcony.
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According to the surveillance video obtained by TMZ, Payne did not want to return to his room and struggled with hotel security, who used a master key to let him inside. The staff also removed a mirror outside his bedroom. Sources claim to the outlet that Payne did not like being alone in hotel rooms like he often was during his time with One Direction.
While Payne was allegedly on a drug binge in mid-September, his bodyguard was concerned for his well-being and put him in a room while they were staying at a rental house in Florida. Payne allegedly escaped from the balcony using a garden hose, a source told TMZ.
The 911 call released shortly after Payne’s Oct. 16 death showed that hotel employees were worried about Payne being in a room with a balcony, as they specifically mentioned it when calling for help. Moments later, Payne fell and died from “multiple trauma” injuries as “the result of the fall,” according to the autopsy. He was in a state of “semi- or total unconsciousness.” The prosecutor’s office ruled out “self-harm of any kind” or that a third party was responsible for Payne’s fall. He had traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system.
Three people were arrested in connection with Payne’s death. A former hotel employee and an alleged drug dealer were accused of selling him narcotics. Payne’s friend Roger Nores, who was very close to the singer in recent months, was charged with abandonment as he saw Payne off the wagon an hour before the incident and left him alone. However, TMZ reported a judge ruled national prosecutors have no jurisdiction over the charge, and their appeal of the ruling was denied. Local prosecutors have yet to file charges.
Court documents obtained by TMZ regarding the abandonment charge paint a troubling timeline leading up to Payne’s death.
The night before the singer died, he ordered four bottles of whiskey. At 6:36 a.m. on Oct. 16, he ordered five more bottles. At 9:32 a.m., he allegedly asked Nores for “6 grams,” possibly referring to cocaine. The two had breakfast together and Nores left. At 2 p.m. Payne allegedly asked a hotel employee for another “7 grams.”
Nores returned around 3:45 p.m. Although a hotel employee claimed Payne was “visibly drunk” with dilated pupils, Nores left at 4:04 p.m. and told authorities he believed the singer was fine and did not seem under the influence of anything. Witnesses claim to have heard Payne breaking things in his room shortly after. Payne eventually made his way down to the lobby, where multiple guests claimed he appeared to act erratically. Payne was carried up by security before 5 p.m. Minutes later, he fell to his death.
Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy is said to be heartbroken at the video released. “He could have been saved, he could have been helped,” her friend told the New York Post. “It’s devastating — and infuriating.”
Payne’s ex-bandmate Zayn Malik, who attended the star’s funeral last week, paid tribute to his friend at the first show of his “Stairway to the Sky” tour on Nov. 23. “Liam Payne 1993-2024 Love You bro,” with a red heart, flashed on the screen.