One Direction singer Liam Payne tragically died after falling from his hotel room balcony on Wednesday evening.
The former X Factor star suffered "very serious injuries incompatible with life" after plummeting from the third floor of the Casa Sur Palermo hotel shortly after 5pm local time. The circumstances leading to his death are still being investigated. Liam is survived by his loved ones and seven-year-old son Bear, whom he welcomed with ex Cheryl.
In an official statement given to The Associated Press, Argentinian police disclosed that the father-of-one had "jumped from the balcony of his room", apparently dispelling any notions of an accidental fall or foul play.
Liam was 31 years old when he tragically died. Here, the Mirror looks back at his final days in Argentina, mapping out his exact movements before his sad death.
Holidaying with girlfriend
September 20 : Liam and his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, arrived in Argentina for a five-day holiday, which ended up lasting two weeks. Sharing photographs on Snapchat of their break, he told fans: "This is the breakfast table, just enjoying breakfast and coffee even though it's 1pm."
He then revealed they'd been staying at a friend's home, while Kate could be heard joking in the background that they were 'losers' for laying in. Liam said: "Today, we ride. I think I'm going to be playing polo again, which is going to put me out of action for about six weeks."
Reunion with Niall
October 2 : Liam went to see his ex-bandmate Niall Horan while in Agrentina. In a clip captioned 'We're going to Argentina to see Nialler', he told Snapchat followers: "Niall Horan is playing down there and I think we might just go to say hello. It's been a while since me and Niall have spoken. We've got a lot to talk about. And I would like to square up a couple of things up with the boy." He added: "No bad vibes or anything like that. But just … we need to talk."
Liam was able to get his wish, when he and Kate attended Niall's gig at the Movistar Arena, declaring it to be a 'lovely show'. Documenting the evening with plenty of pics and videos, and appeared thrilled as he sang and danced the night away.
In one bittersweet snap, captioned 'reunited', Liam and Niall could be seen posing together, with the pals appearing delighted. In the text of another pic, Liam praised his 1D alum, writing: "So happy I got to see Niall in concert."
Haunting videos with fans
From October 2 : Fans of Liam have shared haunting videos of his final days and hours as he greeted them during his Argentina trip. One well-wisher who got to meet him posted on Instagram on October 2: "Totally unreal this. I love you Liam! A dream come true! What a love you are."
Another TikTok video shows the star meeting fans outside his hotel. He appears unsteady on his feet as he tells one fan, "That was a really big squeeze". In another, he poses for a photo before he furrows his brow and looks down.
A separate clip shows Liam signing an autograph for a woman and asking the crowd for a 'pen' because he doesn't have one. When they reply 'lapicera' in Spanish, he jokes: "I feel like you're trying to make me say something rude."
Girlfriend returns home
October 12 : Liam's girlfriend Kate flies back home to Florida after two weeks away, leaving Liam in the country. She tells her TikTok followers: "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'."
Checks into hotel
October 13 : It's been claimed that Liam had checked into the deluxe Casa Sur Hotel suite alone three days before he died. According to local news reports, he was asked to leave his previous hotel.
Mystery hotel women
October 15 : Two mystery women were with Liam the night before he died and didn't leave the hotel where he lost his life until the day of the tragedy, it has been claimed. An Argentinian journalist has claimed the pair have been located and questioned by police and prosecutors and partially named them on a national TV programme.
Prosecutors confirmed they had questioned five people, including two women who had been with Liam in the hours before his death for a "reconstruction of his last hours", she added: "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 Mirror has chosen not to name the women at present. The women are said to have left the hotel before Liam plunged to his death and have been categorised as "key witnesses" in local media reports, rather than suspects in his death.
Last Snapchats
October 16 : Liam's last photo on his Snapchat story was a selfie taken in the mirror with his girlfriend Kate. It's understood the photos were taken a few days prior, as she was back in Florida when they were posted.
Liam spent his final nights alive paying into GoFundMe accounts for sick children live on Snapchat. The father-of-one said being a parent seeing poorly youngsters "hit differently". He said: "As a father, it hits me differently. I would want everyone in the world helping. I have been spending the last few nights trying to finish off the donations so they can get the operations they need - they would be free in my country.
"I can't look at a sick child and not see Bear. I can't and I won't. I'm not asking for people to say well done or I'm amazing - I don't give a f*** about what people think of me." He added: "What I care about is that that child gets to live the life it's supposed to."
Final photo
Hours before : A heartbreaking final photo shows Liam entering the Casa Sur Hotel in the upmarket Palermo district, where mere hours later, he would fall to his death from the third floor.
'Out of place' behaviour
Hours before : A woman, only known as Rebecca, who had a half-hour chat with Liam in the hotel lobby described him as "desperate" to be recognised. She claimed he announced himself, unprompted, shouting "I'm Liam", to a queue of guests waiting for the lift, who weren't "bothered" about who he was. She said that Liam returned to the lobby with his laptop.
Surmising that he'd spotted an email that "upset" him, Rebecca said: "Suddenly he took the computer, shouted 'f**k this s**t mate!' and started bashing the computer on the ground." The singer's "out of place" behaviour "shocked" onlookers in the "high-end" hotel, but concerned, Rebecca said she asked him if he was OK.
She explained: "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'." Shocked at his admission, she saw him get back in the lift, before a "British guy" apologised to the group on "his behalf", saying Liam "gets so high" sometimes. She added that he fell over when he returned to the lobby, with staff helping him in to the lift.
Desperate 911 call
Moments before : It's believed the 31-year-old had been under the influence of drink or drugs, local media reports. In a desperate call made to emergency services, hotel staff requested 'urgent' support, with a receptionist telling the phone operator: "We have a guest who's off his head on drugs and is destroying everything in his room. We need someone to come."
After the line disconnected, the receptionist continued: "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." Then just seconds later, the receptionist made the following heartbreaking clarification: "Just send an ambulance. Only an ambulance."
Witnesses close to the hotel have claimed that Liam had endured a "psychotic episode" in the moments leading up to his death. An office worker who was close to the Casa Sur hotel claimed that the on-site masseuse said Liam was acting erratically.
Josefina, a One Direction fan 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
Moments before : Residents staying in the hotel have described hearing "loud" and "violent" noises coming from Liam's room in the hour before his death. Speaking to the BBC shortly after the shocking incident, fellow hotel guest Doug Jones said: "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 then saw hotel staff going into the suite where Liam Payne is believed to have been staying. He added: "I saw hotel people going in and out of that room, so I thought they were doing work on the room." However the loud noises returned, "So about 4pm, 4.30pm, I started hearing some more noise, I was still doing work," he said. "I heard a really loud, violent scream around 4.45pm, 5pm."
The police arrived just before 5pm, but reported hearing a loud bang from the courtyard as they arrive, at 5.04pm. A short while later, the tourist saw the "road full of cops," as the full tragedy on Wednesday evening began to unfold.
A search of Liam's hotel room uncovered "what appeared to be narcotics, alcohol, destroyed objects and furniture", according to detectives. Photos purporting to show inside the room where Liam spent his final hours have been confirmed by news outlets including La Nacion and Clarin.
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