Liam Payne’s lonely hotel fears and ‘attempt to escape’ as bag found with note

A new report has revealed devastating details about Liam Payne’s final moments before he fell to his death from the third-floor balcony of the Casa Sur Palermo hotel

Liam Payne was desperately trying to escape from his hotel room just minutes before he died, a new report suggests.

The former One Direction singer, 31, fatally plunged from the third floor of the Casa Sur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, last month. A body was found in an internal patio of the boutique hotel shortly after 5pm local time.

Now, it’s been alleged by witnesses and a since-filed police report that Liam was attempting to flee his hotel suite and had threatened to staff that he would use the balcony to escape. Here is everything we know about the star’s alleged plot to leave his room amid reports a bag was found on his body in the courtyard.

Hotel room fears

Sources familiar with Liam have described a repeated aversion he held to being confined in hotel rooms, according to the US website TMZ. His dislike traces back to his years in One Direction. Three years before his death, Liam opened up about his struggles with fame and said touring with his bandmates as a teen “really f****d him up”.

He said the worst part was getting “locked up” in hotel rooms for security reasons after performing. 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 allegedly confined him to a room in a Florida rental property due to concerns over potential drug use. He is alleged to have attempted to escape through a balcony, using a garden hose to shimmy to the ground.

Dad’s concern

A new report has suggested Liam’s father, Geoff, 66, was insistent that the singer not be left alone. TMZ claims the court documents show: “Liam’s father said it was critical that Liam always stayed busy and was never alone. Liam’s dad said he became alarmed in September after his son fired a bodyguard who was trying to stop him from doing drugs.”

Worrying 911 call

On the day he died, Liam was captured on surveillance camera visibly intoxicated and causing a disturbance in the lobby before hotel staff intervened. Witnesses reported that the singer resisted, informing staff he did not want to stay in the room and telling them that he would use the balcony to escape if confined.

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.

They 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.”

Bags and letter

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 and taken to his room.

A second-floor hotel guest discovered a second bag, a leather one 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.

Police have ruled out suicide, believing the singer was likely in a state of “semi or total unconsciousness” at the time of his fall. Officials have also linked the tragedy to a substance-induced ‘psychotic episode’.

*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.