Liam Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy felt like she was in a “hostage situation” while they were travelling together in Argentina, a friend says in a new bombshell interview with the New York Post.
Cassidy was visiting the country with the One Direction star for several weeks in the leadup to his death on Oct. 16 after he jumped from the balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires.
But the model and influencer left Argentina two days before Payne died at the age of 31. Now a source close to Cassidy says she’s agonizing over her decision to leave Payne behind.
“She can’t leave, or else who knows what will happen? And if she leaves, what will he do? But she has other responsibilities, other things that she’s supposed to be doing. So she finally had to make a decision,” a close friend told the New York Post.
They were initially only supposed to be in the country for a few days after flying in to see a solo concert featuring Payne’s One Direction bandmate Niall Horan. But the mood changed as Payne kept trying to extend their time away.
“They’re in Argentina and it’s like a hostage situation,” the friend says. “She tells him she wants to leave, this is after a week. He begs her to stay. She keeps extending her trip, a day, two days. And he just wants her to stay, stay, stay.”
Eventually, Cassidy decided to depart back to Florida. “She wanted to be home in her own bed with her dog. She wanted to come home. So eventually she says she’s going home,” the insider tells the outlet.
According to an autopsy report obtained by TMZ and ABC News on Monday, Payne had numerous drugs in his system at the time of his death last week.
ABC reported that the Teardrops singer “had multiple substances in his system” when he fell from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires.
One of the illicit substances found in Payne’s body, ABC reported, was “pink cocaine,” also known as Tusi, a popular party drug that was also named in the lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs as one of his alleged go-to drugs. The drug does not contain cocaine and is made up of methamphetamine, ketamine and MDMA, according to the U.S. National Capital Poison Center.
Sources told TMZ that police found a bottle of alcohol in Payne’s room, as well as prescription medications — “namely, anti-anxiety meds.”
Payne’s autopsy also revealed traces of cocaine, crack and benzodiazepine, which is a depressant, were present in his body at the time of his death.
Additionally, ABC reported that “an improvised aluminum pipe to ingest drugs was also found in his hotel room.”
In the leadup to Payne’s death, the musician painted a rosy picture of his time away, uploading videos to his Snapchat and telling fans he was “having a lovely day” in Argentina with Cassidy. But 911 audio detailed a frantic scene in the hotel as staff sought medical help dealing with the troubled father of one.
The day after his death, the U,K, Sun, the Associated Press and Argentinian outlet La Nacion translated an emergency call made by the manager of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in which the person could be heard saying a guest was “overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol” and “putting his life at risk.”
By the time medics arrived, Payne was already dead, with his body found in the inside courtyard of the hotel, where he was pronounced dead.
Pablo Policicchio, the communications director for the Buenos Aires Security Ministry, said in a statement to The Associated Press that Payne “had jumped from the balcony of his room.”
Buenos Aires police told the Associated Press that they found Payne’s room “in complete disarray” with broken objects and furniture. They found packs of clonazepam, a central nervous system depressant, energy supplements and over-the-counter medications strewn about his belongings. The Argentine public prosecutor said there also appeared to be alcohol and narcotics in the room.
According to AP, an autopsy showed internal bleeding and 25 traumatic injuries to his skull, limbs and abdomen, consistent with a fall. It said those injuries alone were enough to cause his death.
What led to Payne’s jumping to his death remains a mystery, but according to TMZ, “one theory is he may have been hallucinating as a result of the illicit substance he was using.”
Over the weekend, Cassidy broke her silence on Payne’s death telling her social media followers she’s “at a complete loss.”
“Nothing about the past few days have felt real,” Cassidy posted on her Instagram Stories. “I ask and pray that you’ll give me the grace and space to navigate this in private.”
She then addressed Payne directly, writing: “Liam, my angel. You are everything. I want you to know I loved you unconditionally and completely. I will continue to love you for the rest of my life. I love you Liam.”
On Wednesday, Cassidy posted a handwritten note from Payne in which he pledged to marry her and her own tribute alongside a slideshow of images of the couple.
“A few weeks ago, we sat outside on a beautiful evening manifesting our lives together. I keep your note close, even though you told me not to look at it,” Cassidy wrote.
“It said, ‘Me and Kate to marry within a year/engaged & together forever 444.’ Liam I know we’ll be together forever, but not in the way we had planned. You will always be with me. I’ve gained a guardian angel,” she said.
She ended her message by declaring to Payne she was “Forever yours” and including the number 444. At the end of her slideshow, she explained the meaning behind the number.
“More often, you will see the number 444 when you are feeling alone,” the image explains. “In simple sense, the number 444 reminds you that your angels are always there to support you.”