Liam Payne investigation - Tragic unanswered questions as police issue update

Liam Payne's death has left many baffled as officials in Argentina still say the cause is "undetermined."

Last month, the tragically passed away aged just 31. The former One Direction star was holidaying in Buenos Aires with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy when he fell from the third floor of a hotel. An autopsy ruled that Liam had died instantly after his fall which caused "multiple traumatic injuries" and subsequently led to "internal and external haemorrhage."

However, officials in Argentina still remain "undetermined" about the events leading up to Liam's heartbreaking death. On Tuesday, it emerged that that local law enforcements had been probing five people after two workers at Liam's hotel were now under official investigation.

One of the new suspects has been named locally as a chief receptionist at the hotel who made a 999 call requesting urgent medical assistance for Liam before he plunged to his death from his third-floor balcony and was among a trio of men pictured carrying him up to his room shortly before the tragedy.

The harrowing photo sparked concerns about the behaviour of staff at CasaSur Palermo Hotel and their decision not to leave the singer in the lobby while they waited for help to arrive. Respected Argentinian news website Infobae named the second hotel employee today as head of security. It said investigating judge Laura Bruniard, now leading the probe again after a successful appeal by prosecutors against her decision to rule herself out of the inquiry on a technicality, had told the two men to designate a defence lawyer so she could formally question them under oath.

But eight weeks on from his death, several questions remain unanswered.

Kate Cassidy

Liam had been holidaying with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, in the lead up to his death. However, just days before he died, Kate flew back to Miami, leaving Liam alone in Argentina. She said: "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.'"

Liam chose not to go with her but Kate didn't specify a reason as to why. Instead, she showed off her luxury flight home which included a steak meal. She also showed her boarding pass, made a joke about how her seat number was "1D," much like the band of her boyfriend. Kate also admitted that she usually travels with a Squishmellow, but had given hers to Liam. It later emerged that Liam had remained in Argentina to resolve issues surrounding his visa application.

Mysterious brown bag

48 hours after Liam's death, a hotel worker discovered a brown bag on the balcony of a second floor hotel room, directly underneath Liam's room. Upon discovery, it emerged that there was a bottle of Jack Daniel's whisky, several pills – of which remain unknown and a note reading: "For Liam."

While it is not clear how the bag managed to end up below Liam's room, it could be possible that Liam had thrown the bag down as it emerged he had been planning to escape from his own room. Witnesses and a since filed police report, allege the Buenos Aires hotel in which the singer was staying knew he was threatening to use the balcony as a means to flee but left him by himself. According to the US website TMZ, sources familiar with Liam describe a repeated aversion he held to being confined in hotel rooms, a reaction that traces back to his years in One Direction.

His dislike of such situations reportedly led to at least one other balcony escape attempt in September, when Liam’s security confined him to a room in a Florida rental property due to concerns over potential drug use. During that incident, the 31-year-old is alleged to have attempted to escape through a balcony, using a garden hose to shimmy to the ground.

Gold Rolex 'missing'

Liam had been wearing his beloved gold Rolex in the days leading up to his death. However, when his body was discovered, the expensive watch, worth around £30,000 was nowhere to be seen. It's claimed that the watch vanished after he spent time with two escorts in his hotel room.

Infobae said the woman claimed to have forgotten her makeup and was allowed back into the third-floor room at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires to retrieve it. Citing sources close to the ongoing criminal investigation, the website said: "There Payne's Rolex watch disappeared." It is claimed the woman - along with another female escort who came to the hotel - had been promised £5,000 by Liam, but they did not get all their money. According to Infobae, the two escorts later told prosecutors that 'gentleman' Liam had kneeled in front of them and said, "I love you, I love you."

He is even said to 'promised them' his Rolex watch. But Liam reportedly failed to hand over more cash in the room, or later in the lobby. Liam's pal, Roger Nores, later emerged at the hotel in an attempt to "resolve the situation."

Damaged laptop

Liam was seen using his laptop in the hotel reception area around half an hour before his tragic fall. But moments before onlookers caught a glimpse at him, he appeared to have received an email which caused him distress. Rebecca (not her real name) - one of the final people to speak to Liam before his untimely death - took several photographs of the Strip That Down singer in the hotel lobby before tragedy struck. Speaking in an interview, Rebecca says Liam's "bizarre" final moments have left her shaken.

The IT consultant went on to recall how she and her friends recognised him but were unfazed. "When the lift came he suddenly said to us without any prompting: 'Yes, I'm Liam!' really drawing it out, and then said 'All right come on you lot, get in the elevator with me, I love a cuddle'," Rebecca goes on to share.

She told the Daily Mail how she decided against it but one of the other girls in the group started chatting with him. "And then he grabs a girl who I think was with him and starts fake choking her, only lightly, but the others thought it was really disturbing," Rebecca claims.

Rebecca then returned to the lobby ten minutes later before Liam also returned, this time with a laptop in hand and began reading emails in public view. Rebecca recalls seeing the singer opening an email that "obviously upset him". "Suddenly he took the computer, shouted 'f**k this s**t mate!' and started bashing the computer on the ground," she adds. According to Rebecca, staff and guests inside the high-end hotel were really shocked so she went over to check if the distressed star was ok. "But he just kind of grunted."

Booted out of one hotel

Prior to checking in at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel, Liam had been staying at the swanky Palacio Duhau - Park Hyatt Buenos Aires hotel. The Palacio Duhau, one of the most expensive hotels in the city suited Liam's privacy needs thanks to it's gated community and security on hand.

However, Liam had left the hotel which sees one-bedroom suites go for around £1,000 per night. While the Park Hyatt have not publicly commented, sources claim that Liam had been "kicked out" of the hotel. A guest, whose identity has not been shared said that Liam "appeared intoxicated" before being asked to vacate the property.

Was he on drugs?

Following his death, it was reported that Liam had consumed a concoction of illegal substances as well as a large amount of alcohol. Initial reports claimed he had traces of 'pink cocaine' in his system. The UK Addiction Treatment Centres state that despite the name, pink cocaine doesn't contain the substance.

Instead, it is made up of several substances including MDMA, ketamine and 2C-B and is usually distributed as a powder or as a pill. Photos purporting to show the inside of the deluxe suite the late dad-of-one had checked into earlier in week were published by Argentinian media hours after Liam's death on. News outlets, including La Nacion and Clarin, confirmed the photos, showing traces of a white powder believed to be cocaine and burnt aluminium foil.

However, on November 7, a press release from the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office said that the singer's toxicological results were shared with his family and showed that he had traces of "alcohol, cocaine and prescription antidepressants" in his system. The release said: "This conclusion was reached after the complete toxicology tests on urine, blood and vitreous humor."

Staff didn't call for help

Moments before his death, Liam had allegedly been convulsing in the lobby of his hotel. However, staff initially didn't call for an ambulance. Instead, he was taken up to his hotel room by staff including receptionist Esetban Grassi. Here, Liam was left alone with access to his balcony.

Grassi appeared to know the dangers of the actions he and his colleagues made as he later called for the emergency services and in a distressed call said: "I don't know whether his life may be in danger, the guest's life. He is in a room with a balcony and, well, we're a little afraid that he might do something."

Two of the individuals who carried Liam to his room have now been identified and are being investigated by law enforcements.

Why did Roger Nores leave Liam on his own?

Liam's friend and reported business manager 35-year-old Argentine multi-millionaire Roger was one of the last people to see the One Direction singer alive and is currently being investigated for abandonment after he left the troubled star alone knowing he was in danger.

However, in the days following Liam's death, Roger released a statement and claimed he "never abandoned Liam". He said: "I went to his hotel 3 times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened. There were over 15 people in the hotel lobby chatting and joking with him when I left. I could have never imagined something like this would happen. I've given my statement to the prosecutor on October 17 as a witness and I haven't spoken to any police office or prosecutor ever since. I wasn't Liam's manager he was just my very dear friend."

Now, it has been reported that Roger claimed that the CasaSur Palermo Hotel played a big role in Liam's death and that he isn't the one who should be investigated. Roger's legal team filed new documents, which were seen by TMZ, and claimed the hotel didn't have a 24-hour doctor available. He claims they're required to have one under the law.

He also claimed the hotel didn't effectively look out for the singer's safety, alleged the hotel operations manager knew Liam was inebriated and argued the hotel should have had a doctor present from the moment Liam checked in to stay there. "A world-famous person was staying with obvious signs of being going through a crisis caused by drug intake at that very moment, and they did not even make an effort there to make up for their legal omission of having a 24-hour doctor," the document reportedly claimed.

Hotel staff being probed

The two new individuals being probed by cops are believed to be being interviewed in the coming days. The date for their first interview, expected to take place via Zoom, is said to have been scheduled for next week between December 17 and 19. Public prosecutors have yet to make any official comment but are expected to do so in the coming days.

Infobae did not say what criminal charges the hotel workers could eventually face if the judge concludes there is enough evidence to formally accuse them of wrongdoing at a later date in her probe. Local reports last week said prosecutors were considering bringing manslaughter charges against the hotel employees filmed carrying Liam out of the lobby shortly before his drink and drug-fuelled balcony plunge.

Nothing has so far been said in public about the third man seen lifting up the singer, who was wearing trainers, shorts and a T-shirt and was identified last month by the Daily Mail which published the last picture of Liam as a masseur in the hotel spa.

The reports about the naming of new suspects came as the three people already under formal investigation were summoned for questioning. They have been identified locally as Liam’s close friend and two former hotel workers. The waiter, accused of being Liam's 'drug dealer' told journalist Guillermo Panizza on Telefe Noticias last month he had consumed marijuana and Liam had taken cocaine during their second hotel rendezvous shortly before the singer's death.

But he insisted: "I never took drugs to him or accepted any money. I have messages where he's offering me money because he was apparently used to offering money for everything but I never accepted anything."

The other worker has yet to make any public comment. Prosecutors said in a lengthy statement released on November 7 three men they did not identify by name were now being formally investigated on suspicion of abandoning a person who subsequently died and supplying and facilitating drugs. The statement described one as the person who "routinely accompanied Liam during his stay in Buenos Aires."

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