A source close to Liam Payne’s family said the 31-year-old singer ‘didn’t want to die and could have been saved’ as they opened up about his final hours in Argentina
Liam Payne “could have been saved” if staff at the hotel where he tragically died had called an ambulance when he collapsed in the lobby instead of taking him back to his room, a family friend said in a shocking statement on the singer’s final hours in Argentina.
The 31-year-old former One Direction star passed away after falling from his third-floor balcony at CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. According to reports, shortly before his death, Liam had been acting aggressively in the lobby of the hotel and staff feared he could be under the effect of alcohol or drugs.
He was asked by staff members to return to his hotel room but minutes later, the impact of his body was heard when he fell from the balcony into the internal courtyard of the hotel. The transcript of a 911 call made by hotel staff, revealed the hotel manager tell emergency services: “We have a guest who’s off his head on drugs and is destroying everything in his room. We need someone to come.”
The manager called back for a second time and said the guest’s life was “in danger” as they expressed concern about the balcony in Liam’s room. The manager said: “We need you to send someone urgently because, well, I don’t know if the guest’s life is in danger. They must be in a room that has a balcony. And well, we’re a little bit worried he’ll do something, that he’ll put his life at risk.”
Addressing Liam’s final hours, a source said the singer “would have lived” if an ambulance had been called immediately when he was acting “erratically” in the lobby and he hadn’t been sent back to his room while “in a psychotic state”. According to the source, Liam “didn’t want to die” and had promised his loved ones that he would never take his own life.
They told The Mail on Sunday: “Liam didn’t have to die. Liam didn’t want to die. He had promised us all he would never commit suicide. He was looking forward to the future. If someone had called an ambulance when he collapsed in the hotel lobby instead of taking him back to his room and leaving him in there alone, in a psychotic state, he would still be with us.”
Police investigating the singer’s death are now probing a theory that he was high on a potent substance that can cause extreme highs and extreme lows to users and make them aggressive. Photos from inside Liam’s hotel room saw traces of white powder, tin foil and a smashed television screen. Officials have not commented or provided any official information to support or deny the unconfirmed claims.
The source who spoke to The Mail on Sunday also said Liam was “happy and in good spirits” on Tuesday while undergoing tests to get his visa for the United States renewed. According to the source, a family friend visited him the morning of his death and brought him his favourite American-style chocolate-chip cookies.
The pal, who spent some time with the singer that morning, noted he “seemed a bit tipsy, like he had been drinking, but wasn’t in a bad state.” They added that he was “replicating” 1D hit Fireproof on his computer as he wanted to redo the beat of his favourite hit. They added that Liam was “in a good place, planning for the future” and looking forward to return to Miami to be with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy, who had left Argentina to go back home to care for their dog.
Hotel guest Brett Watson, from Chicago, told ITV that Liam had come back down to the lobby several times before his tragic death – and at some point, he had become “very frustrated” and was “smashing his laptop” in front of other guests. The guest claimed that the final time Liam was in the reception area, he “passed out in the lobby of the hotel, looked like he was convulsing a little bit and had to be physically taken back to his room.”
The source said: “If Liam was convulsing. why didn’t the hotel call an ambulance immediately? That is what no one can understand. He never convulsed before. If he was that sick why did someone take him back to his room and leave him there alone, with an open door to the balcony?”
They added: “If Liam was in a psychotic state he didn’t know what he was a doing. He could have been trying to leave his room and he went to the balcony thinking it was the room exit and accidentally fell. We are tormented by the fact he was left alone in his room after he had convulsions and was clearly in a psychotic state.”
Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No 16 said it was investigating the tragic incident as an “inconclusive death”. Yesterday, Liam’s sister Ruth Gibbins, said she does not feel “this world was good enough or kind enough” to him in a heartfelt tribute to her late brother.
In a statement posted on Instagram on Saturday, Ms Gibbins said her brother’s ability to make her laugh is what she “loved most” about him, adding she was “in awe” of his talent. She wrote: “My brain is struggling to catch up with what’s happening and I don’t understand where you’ve gone. What I love most about you is your ability to make me laugh, I never chuckle as much as I do when I’m with you with anyone else.
“I’m always in awe of your talent, it should be illegal to be so talented and just have the ability to not only be good at things but be bloody great at everything you attempt, without even knowing you’re absolutely smashing it each time.” It comes as their father is in Buenos Aires to arrange the repatriation of the 1D singer’s body. Geoff Payne read letters and cards from fans on Friday outside the Casa Sur Hotel and thanked them for their support.
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