One Direction star Liam Payne tragically passed away following a horror fall from his hotel balcony on Wednesday, October 16. The music world remains in mourning after the former singer sustained "serious injuries that were incompatible with life", after falling from the third-floor of a hotel late in the afternoon.
Argentine police, in an official statement provided to The Associated Press, clarified that the much-loved dad had "jumped from the balcony of his room" which seems to quash any speculation it was an accident or related to any criminal activity. As investigators piece together the singer's last day, it has now emerged that Payne's ex-girlfriend was reportedly staying in the same hotel he was at when he met his untimely end.
Liam had been enjoying a getaway in Argentina with sweetheart Kate Cassidy; their five-day romantic trip unexpectedly stretched to a fortnight. TikTok influencer Cassidy, aged 25, expressed her eagerness to get back, confessing to fans: "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'."
READ MORE: Liam Payne's ex Maya Henry was not mystery 'partner' in hotel at time of death
Liam checked into the opulent Casa Sur Hotel suite solo three days before his tragic incident, after reportedly being asked to vacate his prior lodging, the Mirror has reported.
Nicole Scherzinger's text messages
Nicole Scherzinger, who played a pivotal role in forming One Direction in 2010, maintained a close relationship with Liam Payne until his untimely death. Andrew Lloyd Webber, composer of the Broadway musical Sunset Blvd.
starring Nicole, revealed that she was still exchanging texts with Liam on the day of his passing. In an interview with Billboard, Andrew shared, "On the Wednesday when he died, she was still texting him that day."
Despite her grief, Nicole demonstrated remarkable professionalism by performing as Norma Desmond in the Broadway production.
Andrew praised her, 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."
Nicole has since paid a heartfelt tribute to Liam, sharing a photo of the two alongside Kelly Rowland. She expressed her cherished memories of their time together, from the birth of One Direction to their recent collaboration.
"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 Payne's ex-girlfriend at the same hotel
The hotel manager who alerted emergency services prior to Liam's fatal fall has alleged that the singer's "ex-partner" was also staying at the same location.
In an interview with an Argentinian TV show, Esteban Grassi stated: "He was seen alone but his ex-partner was around."
When questioned, "So she was staying at the hotel too? " on the El Trece programme Telenoche, he responded "Yes", and added: "A floor above, yes". A snippet of the programme featuring a portion of the interview has been shared online and referenced in other Argentinian media outlets.
It remains unclear who Mr Grassi was referring to in his statement. He is believed to be one of three hotel employees that prosecutors have disclosed they interrogated.
Mystery hotel women
In the hours preceding his devastating death, he spent time with Aldana Serrano, 31, and Lucila Goitea, 27, at the Casa Sur Hotel. The group arrived at the upscale hotel around 11.30am local time on Wednesday and proceeded to Liam's suite at the hotel.
However, they departed five hours later at 4pm – merely an hour before Liam tragically plummeted from his balcony. During Liam's final moments, he was reportedly embroiled in a dispute with an unidentified woman in the lobby of his hotel over money.
He tragically fell 45ft, landing in the inner courtyard of the hotel.
Prosecutors have grilled five individuals, including two women who were with Liam just before his tragic end, to piece together 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 ladies reportedly left the hotel before Liam took his fatal fall and are being treated as "key witnesses" by the press, not as suspects in his demise. It has been reported that Serrano and Goitea are absolutely devastated.
A source told 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 help investigators and have said they will speak to police at any time."
Final photo
A gut-wrenching final snap captures Liam entering the swanky Casa Sur Hotel in Palermo, only for him to later plummet from the third floor. An onlooker named Rebecca, who had a brief chinwag with Liam in the hotel foyer, described him as "desperate" for attention.
She recounted how he blurted out "I'm Liam" to an unimpressed crowd by the lift, before he scurried back to the lobby with his laptop.
Rebecca recalled spotting an email that seemed to have upset him, stating: "Suddenly he took the computer, shouted 'f**k this s**t mate! ' and started bashing the computer on the ground."
The singer's unexpected behaviour left onlookers in the posh hotel stunned. Concerned, Rebecca asked if he was alright.
She said: "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'."
Taken aback by his confession, she watched as he re-entered the lift, before a Brit bloke apologised for him, explaining that Liam "gets so high" at times. She also mentioned that he stumbled when he came back to the lobby, with staff assisting him into the lift.
Just hours prior to his tragic passing, he had told his close mate, Jodie Richards - his former performing arts teacher at Pink Productions - that he was having a "chilled-out morning" and showed "no cause for concern". She had a chat with the unique star on Wednesday and initially believed news reports of his death were "fake".
The 41 year old had been texting with her pal Liam just hours before the tragedy, and later tried frantically to reach him. She recalled: "He was looking forward to his day, he said he was having a chill, nothing seemed out of the ordinary," Jodie shared.
"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 speaking to Sky News, she revealed her disbelief: "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 reported as a distressing 911 call believed to be related to the event, local media have stated that the 31 year old may have been under the influence of drink or drugs. During the emergency call, made in desperation, hotel staff asked for 'urgent' assistance, with the receptionist informing the operator: "We have a guest who's off his head on drugs and is destroying everything in his room. We need someone to come."
The receptionist at the hotel made a chilling call for help, saying: "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, with a sense of urgency, they added: "Just send an ambulance. Only an ambulance."
Nearby witnesses have suggested that Liam was suffering from a "psychotic episode" just before his tragic demise. An office worker near the Casa Sur hotel recounted how the on-site masseuse described Liam's erratic behaviour.
One Direction enthusiast Josefina told América TV: "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 was able to speak to the hotel masseuse who said there was a man being aggressive who was breaking things and was having what appeared to be a psychotic episode and looked like he was out of it on drugs."
'Violent' noises
Hotel guests reported disturbing sounds emanating from Liam's room shortly before the tragedy struck. Doug Jones, a fellow guest, relayed to 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 caught sight of the hotel staff entering a suite where it's thought Liam Payne was staying. He mentioned: "I saw hotel people going in and out of that room, so I thought they were doing work on the room."
Yet the commotion persisted, "So about 4pm, 4.30pm, I started hearing some more noise, I was still doing work," he recounted. "I heard a really loud, violent scream around 4.45pm, 5pm."
The authorities were on the scene just shy of 5pm but were met with a resounding bang from the courtyard upon arrival, at precisely 5.04pm. Shortly thereafter, the tourist witnessed the street become swarmed with police as events took a dire turn on Wednesday evening.
Ceasing their search of Liam's hotel room, detectives discovered an array of chaos: "what appeared to be narcotics, alcohol, destroyed objects and furniture". Imagery laying claim to represent the inside of the room where Liam spent his last moments has been authenticated by press agencies such as La Nacion and Clarin.
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