Liam Payne may have died trying to escape from hotel room; police release new CCTV footage of the singer before the fall

New details have emerged about how Liam Payne spent his final hours at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina – and the investigation has raised some serious questions.

Argentine police released CCTV footage It appears to show Payne being carried by three men, believed to be hotel staff, back to his third-floor room minutes before his death. The former One Direction singer was under the influence of drugs and alcohol, according to his autopsy, and had reportedly caused several disturbances in the lobby in the days leading up to his death. However, Payne appears to be conscious in the video as he holds his head up while being carried. Shortly after being taken back to his hotel room, the singer dropped dead.

TMZ obtained the police report it claims Payne may have been trying to escape his room via the balcony when he fell. Some witness accounts reportedly support the theory. Payne had a bag slung over his shoulder as his body was recovered, which he did not have in the lobby video from just before the incident. A hotel employee also discovered a brown bag on the second floor balcony just below his room. There was a note allegedly saying “for Liam” with pills and a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. One theory is that he dropped the bag before trying to escape from his balcony.

According to surveillance video obtained by TMZ, Payne did not want to return to his room and struggled with hotel security, who used a master key to let him inside. Staff also removed a mirror outside his bedroom. Sources claim to the outlet that Payne didn’t like being alone in hotel rooms, as he often was during his time with One Direction.

While Payne was reportedly on a drug binge in mid-September, his bodyguard was concerned for his well-being and put him in a room while they were staying in a rental house in Florida. Payne allegedly escaped from the balcony using a garden hose, a source told TMZ.

The 911 call released shortly after Payne’s death on Oct. 16 showed that hotel employees were concerned that Payne was in a room with a balcony, as they specifically mentioned that when calling for help. Moments later, Payne fell and died of “multiple trauma” injuries as a “result of the fall,” according to the autopsy. He was in a state of “semi- or total unconsciousness”. Prosecutors ruled out “self-harm of any kind” or that a third party was responsible for Payne’s fall. He had traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system.

Three people were arrested in connection with Payne’s death. A former hotel employee and a suspected drug dealer were accused of selling him drugs. Payne’s friend Roger Nores, who was very close to the singer in recent months, was accused of abandonment when he saw Payne off the carriage an hour before the incident and left him alone. However, TMZ reported a judge convicted national prosecutors have no jurisdiction over the charge and their appeal of the ruling was rejected. Local prosecutors have not yet filed charges.

Court documents obtained by TMZ regarding the abandonment charge outline a troubling timeline that led to Payne’s death.

The night before the singer died, he ordered four bottles of whiskey. At 6:36 on October 16, he ordered five more bottles. At 9:32 a.m., he allegedly asked Nores for “6 grams,” possibly referring to cocaine. The two had breakfast together and Nores left. At 2 p.m., Payne allegedly asked a hotel employee for another “7 grams.”

Nores returned around 3.45pm Although a hotel employee claimed Payne was “visibly intoxicated” with dilated pupils, Nores left at 16.04 and told the authorities that he thought the singer was fine and did not seem under the influence of anything. Witnesses claim to have heard Payne break things in his room shortly after. Payne eventually came down to the lobby, where several guests claimed he appeared to be acting erratically. Payne was carried up by security before 1 p.m. 17. Minutes later he fell to his death.

Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy is said to be devastated when the video was published. “He could have been saved, he could have been helped,” her friend said New York Post. “It’s devastating — and annoying.”

Payne’s ex-bandmate Zayn Malik, who attended the star’s funeral last week, paid tribute to his friend at the first show of his “Stairway to the Sky” tour on November 23. “Liam Payne 1993-2024 Love You bro,” with a red heart, flashed on the screen.