According to witnesses and the police report, the late One Direction member Liam Payne was reportedly attempting to escape his third-floor hotel room in Buenos Aries, Argentina when he fell to his death.
As reported by TMZ, sources said that Payne had an issue with feeling locked in hotel rooms because of his touring days with One Direction and had previously used balconies to escape. In surveillance video screenshots from the CasaSur Palermo Hotel where Payne died, he was seen being carried to his room by three employees minutes before he fell from his balcony and died.
His bodyguard reportedly forced him into a room in a Florida rental property in September this year, fearing he was a danger to himself and others because of a suspected drug binge. Payne managed to escape the balcony by using a garden hose. Security camera footage from the Buenos Aires hotel showed that he put up a struggle with the three workers who carried him to his room, making it clear that he did not want to be stuck there.
According to the transcript of the call to police a hotel employee made, the hotel was worried that Payne could hurt himself on the balcony. “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,” read the transcript. When his body was recovered, he had a bag strapped to him containing some of his belongings. Additionally, a hat was found near his body, while the security footage of him being taken to his room against his will showed that he wasn’t wearing one.
Per the police report, authorities believe he was attempting to climb down to the second-floor balcony below his room because a leather bag was found there two days after his death. Inside the bag was a note that read, “for Liam,” various unidentified pills and a bottle of whiskey.
Payne died at age 31 after falling to his death at the hotel. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Results from a partial autopsy showed that he had pink cocaine, cocaine, crack, and benzodiazepines in his system at the time of his death. Three people have been arrested in connection with his death, including a friend, a housekeeper at the hotel, and the alleged drug supplier.
