Tragic Brit popstar Liam Payne lost his life after falling from his hotel room balcony on Wednesday, October 16.
The former X-Factor star suffered “serious injuries that were incompatible with life” after plunging from the third floor at the luxury Casa Sur Palermo hotel shortly after 5pm local time.
In an official statement given to The Associated Press, Argentinian police disclosed that the father-of-one had “jumped from the balcony of his room”, apparently dispelling any notions of an accidental fall or foul play.
As local cops probe the singer’s last 24 hours, police made the shocking announcement that his ex-girlfriend had been staying at the same hotel the week he died. Liam had been in Argentina for a holiday with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, which was scheduled for five days but ended up lasting two weeks, reports the Mirror.
The 25-year-old TikToker decided to fly home then, telling her 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’.”
It’s been claimed that Liam then had checked into the deluxe Casa Sur Hotel suite alone three days before he died. According to local news reports, he was asked to leave his previous hotel. Here, we look back at his final moments in Argentina before his sad death.
In 2010, Nicole Scherzinger supported One Direction through the X-Factor and to worldwide fame- and kept in touch with Liam Payne until the day he died. Regarding the fateful day, Andrew Lloyd Webber now told how Nicole is still texting the star.
Andrew, who composed the music for the Broadway musical Sunset Blvd., which stars Nicole, said: “I suppose something that hasn’t been said, and I suppose I could say, is that, of course, she mentored Liam, from One Direction.” Speaking to Billboard, he said: “On the Wednesday when he died, she was still texting him that day.” Andrew revealed that even after hearing of Liam’s death, she still turned out to perform as Norma Desmond in the Broadway production.
He praised: “The fact that she even did the show at all is extraordinary. I mean, she is an amazing, amazing woman. She is without any question one of the finest performers I’ve ever worked with.”
Nicole has since paid tribute to Liam, sharing a snap of the pair alongside Kelly Rowland while filming for their latest show. “Dear Liam, I will forever cherish and treasure the time we shared together, from fifteen years ago when One Direction was born, right up until just a few weeks ago. It was such a blessing to get to work with you recently. We shared the same love and passion for music and I will forever remember the meaningful and joyful conversations we had.”
The hotel manager who called emergency services before Liam fell to his death has claimed the singer’s “ex-partner” was also staying there. Speaking to an Argentinian TV programme, Esteban Grassi said: “He was seen alone, but his ex-partner was around.”
When asked, “So she was staying at the hotel too?” on the El Trece show Telenoche, he replied “Yes” before adding, “A floor above, yes.” A small clip of the programme featuring part of the interview has been shown online and also mentioned in other Argentinian media outlets.
It was unclear who Mr Grassi was referring to in his claim. He is understood to have been among three hotel workers prosecutors revealed they had questioned.
In the hours before the devastating incident, Liam spent time with Aldana Serrano, 31, and Lucila Goitea, 27, at the Casa Sur Hotel. The group arrived at the swanky hotel around 11:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday and headed to Liam’s suite.
But they left five hours later at 4pm – just one hour before Liam tragically fell from his balcony. During Liam’s final moments, he was said to be arguing over money with a mystery woman in the lobby of his hotel. He tragically fell 45ft, landing in the inner courtyard of the hotel.
Prosecutors confirmed they had questioned five people, including two women who had been with Liam in the hours before his death for a “reconstruction of his last hours”, she added: “He was with two women in his room where there was access to drugs. I’m not going to say their surnames.
A heartbreaking final photo shows Liam entering the Casa Sur Hotel in the upmarket Palermo district, where mere hours later, he would fall to his death from the third floor.
It’s believed the 31-year-old had been under the influence of drink or drugs, local media reports. In a desperate call made to emergency services, hotel staff requested ‘urgent’ support, with a receptionist telling the phone operator: “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 line disconnected, the receptionist continued, “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 seconds later, the receptionist made the following heartbreaking clarification: “Just send an ambulance. Only an ambulance.”
Witnesses close to the hotel have claimed that Liam had endured a “psychotic episode” in the moments leading up to his death. An office worker who was close to the Casa Sur hotel claimed that the on-site masseuse said Liam was acting erratically.
Josefina, a One Direction fan, told América TV: “I was working in an office next to the hotel when we started hearing lots of sirens and lots of noise. A colleague went down to see what was happening and was able to speak to the hotel masseuse, who said there was a man being aggressive, breaking things, having what appeared to be a psychotic episode, and looking like he was out of it on drugs.”
Residents staying in the hotel have described hearing “loud” and “violent” noises coming from Liam’s room in the hour before his death. Speaking to the BBC shortly after the shocking incident, 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.”
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, “So about 4pm, 4.30pm, I started hearing some more noise, I was still doing work,” he said. “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 arrive, at 5.04pm. A short while later, the tourist saw the “road full of cops,” as the full tragedy on Wednesday evening began to unfold.
A search of Liam’s hotel room 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 have been confirmed by news outlets, including La Nacion and Clarin.
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