Liam Payne, the former One Direction star, tragically fell to his death in an incident reportedly linked to an attempt to escape from his hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In a report by TMZ, it was stated that the singer was drunk at the time of the incident and had intentions of using the balcony to leave his room at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel.
Hotel surveillance captured the moment hotel staff walked Payne through the lobby, where he is shown to struggle and resist their attempts to take him back to his room. A master key allowed hotel employees to re-enter the room after initially removing him, and according to a police report taken, they even used precautions such as removing a mirror from the wall outside the room to prevent possible damage.
Soon after, a hotel employee called the emergency services, raising a concern for Payne’s safety. In a 911 transcript, the employee said, “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.”
Despite those precursors, the decision was made to leave the 31-year-old singer to his own devices in his room, from which he eventually fell to his death.
The body of Payne was later found lying on the ground, with a bag that was not seen on him earlier, suggesting he may have collected his stuff before this incident. Additionally, a hat was present there, which he had not been wearing.
Preliminary investigations indicate that Payne was trying to make his way from his third-floor balcony to a second-floor balcony, in an apparent effort to get closer to the ground before jumping.
Two days after his death, a brown leather bag containing pills and a bottle of whiskey with the label “for Liam” was found by a hotel employee on the second-floor balcony. It is thought that Payne meant to pick up the bag after he descended.
The coroner said Payne may have been already unconscious during the fall, even though he had shown great alertness prior to the incident when he gathered his belongings.
Reports also showed that Payne had attempted similar hotel balcony escapes in the past. In Florida, for instance, his bodyguard had locked him in a hotel room out of concern about his drug use.
Toxicology reports showed a lethal cocktail of drugs coursing through Payne’s system, among them crack cocaine and “pink cocaine,” also known as a combination of ketamine and other drugs. The circumstances surrounding his death continue to raise questions as investigations proceed.
