A family friend has made a shocking statement about Liam Payne’s final hours, saying that he “might have survived” if hotel staff had called an ambulance instead of taking him to his room when he collapsed in the lobby. Argentina.
The 31-year-old former One Direction star died on Wednesday after falling from a third-floor balcony at the Casa Sur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires. Liam was reportedly behaving aggressively in the hotel lobby shortly before his death, and staff were concerned he may have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
He was told by staff to return to his hotel room, but a few minutes later a body thump could be heard as he fell from the balcony into the hotel’s courtyard. A recording of a 911 call from hotel staff shows the hotel manager telling emergency services that “we have a guest who is completely crazy and destroying everything in his room.” We need someone to come.’
The manager called again to tell them guests’ lives were “at risk” because they expressed concern about the balcony in Liam’s room. Because we don’t know if guests’ lives are at risk. He must be in a room with a balcony. And now we’re a little worried that he’ll do something, that he’ll put lives at risk.” The source said Liam had promised his loved ones that he would never commit suicide because he “didn’t want to die.”
They told the Mail on Sunday: “Liam didn’t have to die. Liam didn’t want to die. He had promised all of us that he would never kill himself. He was looking forward to his future. If someone had taken him to his room when he collapsed in the hotel lobby and called an ambulance instead of leaving him there alone in a psychotic state, he would still be with us.”
The theory is that he was under the influence of a powerful substance which can cause extreme highs and lows in users and make them aggressive. Photos from Liam’s hotel room showed traces of white powder, tinfoil and a cracked TV screen. Authorities have not commented or provided any official information to substantiate or deny the unconfirmed claims.
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, the source also said Liam was “happy and in high spirits” after being tested on Tuesday to renew his US visa.
Sources said a family friend visited him on the morning of his death and brought him American-style chocolate chip cookies, which were his favourite treat.
A friend who spent time with the singer that morning said he “appeared to have been drinking and seemed a bit tipsy, but was not in a bad mood”. They added that he had “played” 1D’s hit “Fireproof” on his computer because he wanted to recreate the beat of his favourite hit.
They added that Liam was “in high spirits and making plans for the future” and was looking forward to returning to Miami to spend time with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy. Cassidy had reportedly left Argentina to return to her home and look after her dog.
Chicago hotel guest Brett Watson told ITV that Liam had returned to the lobby several times before his tragic death, but at one point became “very frustrated” and “smashed his laptop” in front of other guests. The guest claimed that the last time Liam was in the reception area, he “fainted in the hotel lobby, appeared to be having mild convulsions and had to be physically carried back to his room.
If Liam was having a convulsion. Why didn’t the hotel call an ambulance straight away? That’s beyond anyone’s understanding. He never had a seizure. If he was that unwell why would someone have taken him to his room and left him with the balcony door open?”
They added: “If Liam was in a psychotic state they should have known he was in a psychotic state.” Don’t do what he did. He could have been trying to get out of the room and stepped onto the balcony thinking it was the room exit and accidentally fell. “We are heartbroken that he was left alone in his room after his convulsions, in an obviously psychotic state.”
The Argentine National Criminal Penitentiary’s 16th Prosecutor’s Office said it was investigating the tragic incident as a “death without yesterday”. Liam’s sister, Ruth Gibbins, paid heartfelt tribute to her late brother, saying she felt “the world was not good enough or kind enough” for Liam, and Gibbins said that what she “loved most” about her brother was his ability to make her laugh.
She went on to write that she was “in awe” of his talent, saying, “My brain is struggling. I can’t understand what’s going on and I can’t understand where you’ve gone. What I love most about you is your ability to make me laugh. I never laugh as much as I do when I’m near you.
“I am always impressed with your talent. It should be illegal to be this talented and so good at everything you do without knowing that you are not only good at things, but you succeed every single time.”