One Direction singer Liam Payne sadly passed away following a fall from his hotel room balcony on Wednesday, October 16.
The ex-X Factor sensation sustained “serious injuries that were incompatible with life” after falling from the third floor of the upscale Casa Sur Palermo hotel just after 5pm local time. Argentinian authorities, in a statement to The Associated Press, confirmed that the father-of-one had “jumped from the balcony of his room”, seemingly ruling out the possibility of an accidental fall or criminal activity.
Investigators are piecing together his movements in the last 24 hours, as sensational new allegations have emerged today claiming that his former girlfriend was at the same hotel the week he died. Liam had been vacationing in Argentina with his partner, Kate Cassidy, on a trip meant to last five days but which unexpectedly extended to two weeks.
The 25 year old TikTok influencer chose to return home early, telling her audience: “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 has been reported that Liam subsequently checked into a sumptuous suite at the Casa Sur Hotel by himself three days prior to his untimely death. Reportedly, he had been requested to vacate his previous accommodation, reports the Mirror.
We reflect on his last documented moments in Argentina before the tragedy unfolded.
Nicole Scherzinger’s text messages
In 2010, Nicole Scherzinger was instrumental in the formation of hit boyband One Direction, and she maintained a close relationship with the band’s Liam Payne up to his last moments. Andrew Lloyd Webber, speaking about the tragic day, disclosed that Nicole was still texting Liam on the day he passed away.
Andrew Lloyd Webber, who composed the musical score for “Sunset Blvd.”
, the show that features Nicole as a star, shared: “I suppose something that hasn’t been said, and I suppose I could say, is that of course she mentored Liam, from One Direction.”
In an interview with Billboard, he revealed: “On the Wednesday when he died, she was still texting him that day.”
Webber went on to commend Nicole’s professionalism, saying: “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.”
Reflecting on her time with Liam, Nicole paid an emotional tribute to her late friend, sharing a photo of them together with Kelly Rowland during recent work on their latest project. “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,” she wrote.
“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.”
Liam’s ex-girlfriend at the same hotel
The hotel manager who alerted emergency services before Liam’s fatal fall has claimed that the singer’s “ex-partner” was also present at the establishment. Esteban Grassi told an Argentinian TV programme, “He was seen alone but his ex-partner was around.”
On being queried on the El Trece show Telenoche, “So she was staying at the hotel too? ” he confirmed “Yes” and elaborated: “A floor above, yes”. A snippet of the interview was broadcast online and has been referenced by other Argentinian media.
It remains unclear to whom Mr Grassi was alluding in his statement. He is believed to be one of the three hotel employees that prosecutors have disclosed were interviewed.
In the time leading up to his tragic demise, Liam was in the company of Aldana Serrano, 31, and Lucila Goitea, 27, at the Casa Sur Hotel. They checked into the upscale hotel at approximately 11.30am local time on Wednesday and proceeded to Liam’s suite.
However, they departed after five hours at 4pm merely an hour before Liam met with his untimely death from his balcony. In the moments preceding his fall, he was reportedly embroiled in a dispute with an unidentified woman in the hotel lobby concerning money.
Mystery hotel women
Prosecutors have confirmed that they’ve questioned five individuals, including two women who spent time with Liam in the lead-up to his tragic demise for a “reconstruction of his last hours” she revealed: “He was with two women in his room where there was access to drugs. I’m not going to say their surnames.”
“[Woman A] gave a statement last night and [Woman B] has just finished hers.”
The women, who reportedly left the hotel before Liam’s fatal fall, are being treated as “key witnesses” by local media, rather than suspects in his death. Sources now claim Serrano and Goitea are “devastated”.
A friend confided to the Sunday Mirror: “They have been cooperative from the moment they found out Liam died. They have told police they did nothing wrong and left well before he fell. The two girls have vowed to continue helping investigators and have said they will speak to police at any time.”
Final photo
A poignant final photo captures Liam entering the Casa Sur Hotel in the affluent Palermo district, where, just hours later, he would plummet to his death from the third floor.
‘Out of place’ behaviour
In an account of ‘out of place’ behaviour, a woman named only as Rebecca, who engaged in a brief conversation with Liam in the hotel lobby, described him as “desperate” for recognition. She recounted how he introduced himself unsolicited, exclaiming “I’m Liam”, to a line of guests waiting for the elevator, who appeared indifferent to his identity.
According to her, Liam later returned to the lobby with his laptop.
Rebecca recounted a startling incident where she witnessed the singer’s erratic behaviour, saying: “Suddenly he took the computer, shouted ‘f**k this s**t mate! ‘ and started bashing the computer on the ground.”
The unexpected outburst in the upscale hotel left onlookers stunned. Concerned for his wellbeing, Rebecca approached him to ask if he was alright.
She continued, detailing his response: “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’.”
His candid confession surprised her, and she watched as he re-entered the lift. A “British guy” then stepped in to apologise for the singer, explaining that Liam “gets so high” at times.
She also noted that upon his return to the lobby, he stumbled and was assisted by staff into the lift.
In the hours leading up to his tragic passing, he had spoken to his close friend Jodie Richards a former performing arts teacher from Pink Productions telling her he was enjoying a “chilled-out morning” and appeared to have “no cause for concern”. Jodie, who spoke to the unique star on Wednesday, initially believed the reports of his death to be “fake”.
The 41 year old had been in touch with Liam just hours before and unsuccessfully attempted to reach him afterwards. She recounted: “He was looking forward to his day, he said he was having a chill, nothing seemed out of the ordinary”, Jodie disclosed.
“He’s always somewhere more glamorous than we are so LA, Argentina, I have to look at the time difference to see where he is, he usually texts me and it’s the middle of our night. He seemed fine, he looked happy, he looked healthy – no reason for any kind of concern and then obviously I heard it on the news.”
While talking to Sky News, she continued: “I thought it was fake news, I tried to phone him. Obviously he wasn’t answering. I tried to text him, it wasn’t going to a ‘read’ message – normally it does quite quickly, then as I turned the telly on it was getting more and more apparent it wasn’t fake.”
Desperate 911 call
In what has been described as a frantic 911 call, it is believed that the 31 year old was under the influence of either alcohol or drugs, according to reports from local media. During an urgent phone request for help, a receptionist from the hotel reported to the emergency 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 with a sense of urgency: “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.”
Moments later, the receptionist added with sombre finality: “Just send an ambulance. Only an ambulance.”
Local witnesses have reported that Liam was experiencing a “psychotic episode” just before his tragic passing. An office worker situated near the Casa Sur hotel recounted that the hotel’s masseuse described Liam’s behaviour as erratic.
One Direction enthusiast Josefina shared her account with America TV, saying: “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 managed to talk to the hotel masseuse who mentioned there was a man being aggressive, breaking things, and seemingly having what looked like a psychotic episode, possibly under the influence of drugs.”
‘Violent’ noises
Guests at the hotel have spoken about hearing “loud” and “violent” sounds emanating from Liam’s room shortly before the tragedy unfolded. Doug Jones, another guest, told the BBC : “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 recalled the unsettling series of events at the hotel where it’s believed Liam Payne had been staying. “I saw hotel people going in and out of that room, so I thought they were doing work on the room.”
he said.
Despite this, bizarre noises permeated the air once again. “So about 4pm, 4.30pm, I started hearing some more noise, I was still doing work,” Doug detailed.
He then described a chilling episode: “I heard a really loud, violent scream around 4.45pm, 5pm.”
The police were summoned promptly, arriving just before the clock struck 5pm. Yet as they got to the site, they were greeted by a startling noisethe report of a loud bang from the courtyard at exactly 5.04pm.
Shortly after their arrival, the bewildering incident escalated and, according to the tourist, the “road full of cops,” marked the beginning of a tragic Wednesday evening.
A meticulous inspection of the suite suspected to be Liam’s unearthed a scene of chaos with “what appeared to be narcotics, alcohol, destroyed objects and furniture”, disclosed by detectives on the case. Images claiming to capture the disarrayed state of the room where Liam reportedly spent his last moments have been authenticated by various news entities, including La Nacion and Clarin.