Liam Payne fell to his death in Buenos Aires last month (
Image: Mike Marsland/WireImage)
Liam Payne, of One Direction fame, died of multiple traumas and “internal and external haemorrhage” after falling from a third-floor balcony of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires
Liam Payne was attempting to escape from his hotel when he fell to his death, an employee has claimed.
And the police report notes staff left Liam, 31, by himself despite the star threatening to use the balcony as a means to flee on October 16. According to the US website TMZ, sources familiar with Liam describe a repeated aversion he held to being confined in hotel rooms, a reaction that traces back to his years in One Direction.
His dislike of such situations reportedly led to at least one other balcony escape attempt in September, when Liam’s 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.
On the day of his death last month, Liam was reportedly intoxicated and causing a disturbance in the lobby before staff at the CasaSur Hotel staff intervened. Witnesses reported that the X Factor star resisted, telling staff he did not want to stay in the room and even warned them he would use the balcony to escape if confined.
The 31-year-old singer was attempting to escape from his hotel, it is claimed today (
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Getty Images for Atlantis The Royal)
Flowers and tributes to Liam are pictured in Wolverhampton, where he grew up (
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Getty Images)
Despite this warning, 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. “I don’t know whether his life may be in danger. He is in a room with a balcony, and, well, we’re a little afraid,” the hotel employee stated during the call, according to the transcript.
After the hotel staff left Liam alone, he apparently attempted an escape route involving the balcony, leading to a tragic fall. His body was found with a bag strapped over his shoulder -indicating he may have been preparing to leave the room. The bag was not present when he was carried from the lobby.
Evidence uncovered two days after his death 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.
An investigation has been launched into the death of the One Direction star (
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AFP via Getty Images)
Investigators believe the bag, identified as the singer’s and not the one found next to his body, was lowered to the second-floor balcony 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.
They are looking to determine who supplied Liam with the drugs found in his system. Rogelio “Roger” Nores, a close friend of the singer is under investigation, has similarly denied any involvement in the singer’s death. In a statement, he said he last saw the star about 40 minutes before his fall and had visited his friend’s hotel three times that day.
“I never abandoned Liam,” Nores stated. “There were over 15 people at the hotel lobby chatting and joking with him when I left. I could have never imagined something like this would happen.” Two other men have also been questioned a 21-year-old hotel worker, and a 24-year-old who worked at a restaurant Liam visited.