New details have emerged about Liam Payne’s last moments before his fatal fall after manslaughter charges against his friend and two hotel staff members have been dropped.
Appeal court judges in Argentina reversed an earlier decision to charge all three – Roger Nores, along with chief receptionist Esteban Grassi and head of security Gilda Martin. However, the two people accused of selling the singer cocaine before his death – waiter Braian Nahuel Paiz, 24, and hotel employee Ezequiel David Pereyra, 21, remain in prison after being told they still face prosecution and probable trial.
The One Direction star, 31, sadly died after falling from the third floor of the Casa Sur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 16. A post-mortem examination determined the singer’s cause of death as being “multiple trauma” and “internal and external haemorrhage” following the fall.
The judge and public prosecutor issued a statement sharing details regarding Liam’s final moments, with his death being branded as “foreseeable”. Here, The Mirror takes a look at everything we know about Liam’s worrying spiral before tragedy struck and what really happened in the doomed hotel room…
‘Night with sex workers’
Liam reportedly contacted two women via a sex worker website and invited them to his hotel room hours before his death, according to a 35-page court ruling prepared by judges in Argentina, seen by MailOnline. The women allegedly arrived at 11.30am on October 16 where they found him “consuming something like crystal”.
After two-and-a-half hours in the room, he allegedly smashed a TV and ordered them to leave. As per the publication, one of the women told investigators: “He [Payne] had…a small whiskey that he was drinking.
“He was consuming something like crystal, with aluminium foil and he asked us to get [drugs] for him and we had nowhere to get it or anything because we don’t do that. During the time we were there we had sex.”
Substance struggles
Liam had reportedly been clean from drugs in his final months, but seemingly fell back into taking narcotics and alcohol shortly before his death. A toxicology report found traces of “alcohol, cocaine and prescription antidepressants” in Liam’s system, along with ‘pink cocaine’ – a combination of crystal meth, ketamine and MDMA.
A search of Liam’s hotel room also uncovered “what appeared to be narcotics, alcohol, destroyed objects and furniture”, according to detectives. Photos purporting to show inside the room where Liam spent his final hours were confirmed by news outlets La Nacion and Clarin.
Smashed hotel room
Photos purporting to show the inside of the deluxe suite Liam had checked into were published by Argentinian media hours after his death. News outlets, including La Nacion and Clarin, confirmed the photos, showing traces of a white powder and burnt aluminium foil as well as a smashed TV, were taken inside Liam’s room at the upmarket Hotel CasaSur Palermo.
A half-drunk glass of what appeared to be champagne and another empty glass beside it had been left next to the broken television. A Dove soap packet, an empty glass, pieces of aluminium foil, the remains of a burnt candle and the burnt top of a drinks can were also clearly visible, along with traces of a white powder.
As they continued their investigations, prosecutors said Liam may have plunged from his balcony “in a state of semi or total unconsciousness” during a substance-induced psychotic episode. According to reports, describing the hotel room, one of the sex workers who claimed to have spent the night with Liam, told investigators: “Everything was disorganized, messy, there were aluminium foils lying around with drugs.. on the part of the sofa there were other burned aluminium foils… mess, clothes lying around.
“I remember that he had a strong smell of alcohol but he looked good, he looked a harmonious person, if you didn’t get close and smell the alcohol on him you didn’t realize that he had consumed so much.”
‘Desperation’
A woman, only known as Rebecca – who had a half-hour chat with Liam in the hotel lobby hours before his death – described him as “desperate” to be recognised. She claimed he announced himself, unprompted, shouting “I’m Liam”, to a queue of guests waiting for the lift. She said that Liam returned to the lobby with his laptop.
Surmising that he’d spotted an email that “upset” him, Rebecca said: “Suddenly he took the computer, shouted ‘f**k this s**t mate!’ and started bashing the computer on the ground.” The singer’s “out of place” behaviour “shocked” onlookers in the “high-end” hotel, but concerned, Rebecca said she asked him if he was OK.
She explained: “But he just kind of grunted. Then he said ‘I used to be in a boyband. That’s why I’m so f**ked up’.” Shocked at his admission, she saw him get back in the lift, before a “British guy” apologised to the group on “his behalf”. She added that he fell over when he returned to the lobby, with staff helping him in to the lift.
Concern from staff
The chief receptionist at the hotel claimed Liam had repeatedly asked for alcohol, and reportedly asked where he could get hold of some cocaine. He then allegedly insulted a member of staff who said they couldn’t help him. According to court documents, Liam was left “unable to stand” following his “consumption of various substances”.
Later, hotel employees reportedly used a master key to place Liam in his room, subsequently removing a mirror outside his door, apparently out of concern he might damage it. Just minutes later, a hotel employee called 911, noting the singer was in a room with a balcony and expressing fear that he might attempt to escape.
The caller said: “I don’t know if the guest’s life is in danger. The room has a balcony and we are afraid he might do something. Just send an ambulance, only an ambulance.”
‘Escape route’
After the hotel staff left Liam alone, he apparently attempted an escape route involving the balcony, leading to his tragic fall. His body was found with a bag strapped over his shoulder – the bag was not present when he was carried from the lobby.
Evidence suggests Liam may have planned his descent in stages. A second-floor hotel guest discovered a leather bag containing pills, a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, and a note labelled ‘for Liam’ on their balcony. Investigators believe the bag, identified as the singer’s and not the one found next to his body, was lowered to the second floor as part of his attempted escape.
Officials also ruled out suicide, explaining that “in the state he was in, he did not know what he was doing and could not understand it”. According to a report, the father-of-one, whose tragic death has been linked to a substance-induced “psychotic episode”, “did not adopt a reflexive posture to protect himself in the fall, so that, for the moment, it can be inferred that he may have fallen in a state of semi- or total unconsciousness.”
Hotel room fears
According to the US website TMZ, sources familiar with Liam described a repeated aversion he held to being confined in hotel rooms, a reaction that traces back to his years in the band. Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast in 2021, Liam said: “My dad said it from day one – lonely hotel rooms, man – getting locked in that room is not fun when you’ve been exposed.”
The singer’s dislike of such situations reportedly led to at least one other balcony escape attempt in September, when his security confined him to a room in a Florida rental property due to concerns over potential drug use. During that incident, the 31-year-old is alleged to have attempted to escape through a balcony, using a garden hose to shimmy to the ground.
Haunting videos with fans
Fans of Liam shared haunting videos of his final days and hours and he greeted them during his Argentina trip. One TikTok video shows the star meeting well-wishers outside his hotel, and he appears unsteady on his feet as he tells them, “That was a really big squeeze”. In another, he poses for a photo before he furrows his brow and looks down.
A separate clip shows Liam signing an autograph for a woman and asking the crowd for a ‘pen’ because he doesn’t have one. When they reply ‘lapicera’ in Spanish, he jokes: “I feel like you’re trying to make me say something rude.” But away from the laughter, there are concerns Liam wasn’t in a good headspace and was spiralling out of control.
Difficult blows
Liam was hit with some difficult blows in the weeks before his death, with those close to him raising the alarm before the tragedy. His own publicist resigned, leaving him without any guidance in a turbulent time, and he was reportedly dropped by his record label, Universal Music.
According to the Liam was axed by the record label in the days preceding his death, with a source telling the publication: “Liam’s advance was massive and he didn’t recoup [it]. Out of all of the boys, Liam was on the wrong path musically.” His second album release was allegedly put on hold.
A source claimed eight-year-long music career may have felt like it was “crumbling” at the end, and it “must have absolutely devastated him”. It coincided with actions taken by his ex-fiancé Maya Henry, who began legal proceedings against Liam after she accused him of repeatedly contacting her.
*Frank offers confidential advice about drugs and addiction (email frank@talktofrank.com, message 82111 or call 0300 123 6600) or the NHS has information about getting help.
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