In the days before his tragic death, One Direction singer Liam Payne was hit with difficult blows. The One Direction singer tragically passed away after falling from the third floor of a luxury hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Payne’s body was discovered in an internal patio of the Casa Sur Palermo hotel at around 5 p.m. local time, with reports stating he fell from a height of 14 metres. The injuries sustained in the fall were described as “very serious” and “incompatible with life,” with authorities now probing the circumstances of the heartbreaking event.
The British pop star, who rose to fame with One Direction on The X Factor, leaves behind his seven-year-old son Bear, whom he shared with ex-partner Cheryl. In the days leading up to his death, Payne was reportedly facing a series of personal and professional struggles. His publicist had resigned earlier in October, leaving him without essential guidance.
His ex-fiancé Maya Henry recently began legal proceedings against the singer after she accused him of repeatedly contacting her. A source also claimed that Liam’s eight-year-long music career may have felt like it was “crumbling” at the end, and it “must have absolutely devastated him”
Now, with fresh details surfacing, it’s clear that Payne’s final days were marked by emotional turmoil and career setbacks, the Mirror took a look back.
Record label blow
One of the most crushing blows to Payne’s career came just days before his death when he was reportedly dropped by his record label, Universal Music. Payne’s second studio album had apparently been put on hold. A source told the Daily Mail: “Liam’s advance was massive and he didn’t recoup [it]. Out of all of the One Direction boys, Liam was on the wrong path musically.”
Universal Music Group said: “We are devastated by the tragic passing of Liam Payne. His legacy will live on through his music and the countless fans he inspired and who adored him. We send our deepest condolences to Liam’s family and loved ones.”
Mystery hotel women
According to reports, two mystery ladies were with Liam the night before he died and did not leave the hotel until the day of the tragedy. An Argentine journalist claims the couple have been questioned by police and prosecutors.
The women are said to have left the hotel before Liam plunged to his death and have been categorised as “key witnesses” in local media reports, rather than suspects in his death.
Girlfriend leaving
Liam had been in Argentina with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, before she departed to come home.
On October 12, Kate flew back home to Florida, telling her TikTok followers: “I was so ready to leave. Love South America, but I hate staying in one place for too long and we were supposed to be there for five days, turned into two weeks and I was just like, ‘I need to go home’.”
Haunting videos with fans
Fans of Liam shared unsettling videos of his last days and hours, as he greeted them during his trip to Argentina. In one TikTok video, the singer greets fans outside his hotel looking wobbly on his feet, telling one fan, “That was a really big squeeze”. In another, he poses for a photograph before furrowing his brow and looking downward.
Despite making jokes with fans, saying, “I feel like you’re trying to make me say something rude”, when they were speaking to him in Spanish, there are concerns Liam wasn’t in a good headspace and was spiralling out of control.
Final struggles
A woman, known only as Rebecca, who had a half-hour chat with Liam in the hotel lobby described him as “desperate” to be recognised. To a queue of guests waiting for the lift, she claimed he announced himself, unprompted, shouting “I’m Liam”, who weren’t “bothered” about who he was. 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 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”, saying Liam “gets so high” sometimes. She added that he fell over when he returned to the lobby, with staff helping him in to the lift.
Office worker Josefina, a One Direction fan, told América TV about what the hotel masseuse told her colleague Liam “appeared to be a psychotic episode and looked like he was out of it on drugs”.
Hotel doom
A search of Liam’s hotel room uncovered “what appeared to be narcotics, alcohol, destroyed objects and furniture”, according to detectives.
The pictures show traces of a white powder, burnt aluminium foil, empty champagne glasses and a smashed TV. If tests reveal it to be drugs, authorities plan to investigate who supplied them to him.
The reception head pleaded to emergency services on the phone before this, saying: “We have a guest who’s off his head on drugs and is destroying everything in his room. We need someone to come.”
After the call cut off, an employee rang again: “I don’t know if the guest’s life is in danger.” Continuing in worry, he said: “The room has a balcony and we are afraid he might do something. Just send an ambulance, only an ambulance.”
Hotel residents have described hearing “loud” and “violent” noises coming from Liam’s room in the hour before his death. Speaking to the BBC, fellow hotel guest Doug Jones said: “I thought they were working on the room. There was a lot of noise, like heavy lifting, like banging, a lot of loud, violent noises, I thought.”
Doug then saw hotel staff going into the suite where Liam Payne is believed to have been staying. He added: “I saw hotel people going in and out of that room, so I thought they were doing work on the room.” However the loud noises returned, “I heard a really loud, violent scream around 4.45pm, 5pm.”
The police arrived just before 5pm, but reported hearing a loud bang from the courtyard as they arrived. A short while later, the tourist saw the “road full of cops,” as the full tragedy on Wednesday evening began to unfold.
Authorities have allegedly dispelled any notions of an accidental fall or foul play.
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