A judge has provided a major update into Liam Payne’s death as they confirmed he fell while trying to escape his hotel while in a drugged state.
The former One Direction singer tragically died on October 16 after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He had been staying at CasaSur Palermo hotel. Members of staff at the hotel, including chief receptionist Esteban Grassi and head of security Gilda Martin, have been charged with manslaughter along with Liam’s friend Rogelio Nores, 35.
Waiter Braian Nahuel Paiz, 24, and hotel employee Ezequiel David Pereyra, 21, have been accused of selling Liam drugs. A post-mortem examination found the star had died of multiple traumas and internal and external bleeding. Suicide was ruled out after the singer was found to be likely in a state of ‘semi or total unconsciousness’ at the time of his fall.
Laura Bruniard, the head of Criminal and Correctional Court Number 34, has said Liam had been in a ‘state of vulnerability’ and should not have been left alone in a ‘state of intoxication due to polydrug use’, according to a statement issued by Argentina’s Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Judge Bruniard noted Liam appeared to have ‘a history of addiction’ based upon testimonies and evidence gathered over the last two months. The investigation has reported the singer had been demanding cocaine and alcohol from hotel staff. Liam was taken to his room by hotel staff and minutes later, he attempted to leave the room via the balcony, the judge said.
Argentina operates an ‘inquisitorial’ legal system which sees courts and judges actively involved in investigating the facts of a case. Forensic experts believe Liam fell unconscious as he clambed over the railing before falling to his death. Judge Bruniard said: “Payne’s consciousness was altered and there was a balcony in the room. The proper thing to do was to leave him in a safe place and with company until a doctor arrived.
“I maintain that the person named tried to leave from the balcony of the place where he was left because the forensic experts noted that he did not lose his balance. This is how the fall occurred. The named man tried to leave via the balcony, in the state detailed. He fell into the void and died.
“The autopsy performed on his body showed that the death was caused by multiple trauma and internal and external bleeding. The presence of cocaine and alcohol in large quantities was confirmed.” Alcohol, cocaine and prescription antidepressants were found in Liam’s system, according to a November 7 report from the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office. The father-of-one was in a ‘psychotic episode’, the report found, meaning he was not able to protect himself when he fell.
It is thought hotel employees used a master key to return Liam to his room, with an employee calling 999 to ask 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’. The star’s body was found with a bag strapped over his shoulder, which wasn’t present when he was carried from the lobby.
A second-floor hotel guest discovered a leather bag containing pills, a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, and a note labelled ‘for Liam’ on their balcony. Investigators believe the bag, identified as the singer’s and not the one found next to his body, was lowered to the second floor as part of his attempted escape.
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