Liam Payne reportedly died trying to escape the hotel via the balcony after staff forced him into the room

Liam Payne was apparently trying to get out of his hotel room via the third floor balcony when he fell to his death in Argentina. Testimony, surveillance footage, a 911 call and the police report all support that theory, according to TMZ.

TMZ obtained surveillance footage from the lobby of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires taken moments before the singer’s death. In the clips – which were taken while Liam was allegedly causing a disturbance and behaving “erratic” in the main hotel area – three hotel staff carried the late star back to his room.

Liam, who was 31 when he died on October 16, struggled with staff as they tried to force him back into his room, according to TMZ. As Liam has spoken openly about in the past, he doesn’t like being forced to spend time locked behind hotel room doors like he had to during his One Direction days. The footage showed a member of staff using a master key to unlock Liam’s door and place him back inside.

The site reported that Liam has escaped via balconies in the past, citing one particular instance that occurred in September where he allegedly used a garden hose to descend from a room inside a Florida rental house.

According to the 911 call from Argentina, employees were concerned about the balcony situation and told the operator, “I don’t know if his life could be in danger. He’s in a room with a balcony and, well, we’re kind of scared,” per TMZ. Regardless of the concerns, Liam was left in his room, sources said TMZ they believe the hotel is responsible for caring more about the lobby disturbance than Liam’s safety.

When the “Strip That Down” singer’s body was found, he was wearing a hat on his head, which he wasn’t wearing in the lobby surveillance footage. He also had a bag over his shoulder, which he had not carried before, supporting the theory that he was trying to escape from the balcony with his belongings. The police report also revealed that another of Liam’s bags – which contained a note saying “to Liam”, as well as pills and a bottle of Jack Daniels – was found on the second-floor balcony. It is believed he dropped the bag before attempting to lower himself to the second floor, where he could more easily jump to the ground, according to TMZ.

The hotel responded with “No comment,” which the site reached out to.

Liam died “due to ‘multiple trauma’ and ‘a haemorrhage, internal and external,’ as a result of the fall suffered by the musician,” according to his autopsy report. He had alcohol and drugs in his system at the time of his death. “All of the injuries presented by Payne were consistent with those caused by a fall from a height and that self-harm of any kind was excluded,” according to the coroner.

“A deliberate or voluntary act” on Liam’s part was ruled out because “in the state he was in, he did not know what he was doing, nor could he understand it,” the report said.