Sad photo of Liam Payne’s dad as hotel staff investigated
Liam Payne’s dad was spotted on the balcony where the former One Direction singer fell to his death, as police investigate the role hotel staff may have played in supplying drugs.
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Liam Payne’s father has been photographed standing on the balcony of a hotel in Argentina where his son fell to his death on October 16.
Geoff Payne arrived at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel on Friday local time and took time to read through cards, speak to fans and join in a moment of silence for the late One Direction singer.
As the grieving father entered the hotel, fans tried to shield him from cameras, according to the BBC.
A photo taken on October 18 shows Payne’s father standing on the third-floor balcony looking down at the deck below where his son’s body was found.
It comes as staff at the up-market Buenos Aires hotel are being investigated for supplying the star with hard drugs that may have triggered a psychotic episode.
According to the Daily Mail, the men are accused of smuggling narcotics to the singer while he was staying at the CasaSur boutique hotel in the trendy district of Palermo in Argentina’s capital.
A cleaner and another member of staff are said to have concealed the drugs in Dove Soap box, which detectives found empty on the floor of Payne’s suite following his death.
Remnants of the drugs, which are thought to be crack cocaine, have been sent for testing.
The Mail reports one staff member has already been fired.
It comes as tens of thousands of fans of Liam Payne gathered across the world to remember the One Direction star who died tragically aged 31 last week.
There were moving scenes of memorials and vigils from London to Paris, Stockholm to New York, Madrid to Munich as international fans paid tribute to Payne, after he fell from the third floor of the CasaSur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Wednesday.
In London, heartbroken fans gathered around the Peter Pan Statue in Kensington Gardens for a memorial to “honour his shining spirit and unforgettable impact”.
Mourners brought candles, flowers, heart-shaped balloons, handwritten letters, toys, and One Direction memorabilia to place at the temporary altar for the star. Some fans sang verses from the group’s hit, What Makes You Beautiful.
There were similar scenes in Madrid, Munich, and Paris, and there was also a beautiful candlelit vigil in Stockholm, Sweden outside the music studio where One Directon recorded their first two albums.
In one touching moment, fans sang One Direction’s iconic song ‘What Makes You Beautiful — the band’s lead single from their debut album, ‘Up All Night’.
LIAM’S GIRLFRIEND ‘DEVASTATED’
Liam Payne’s girlfriend is “devastated” after learning that the tragic singer partied with prostitutes in the hours before he died, it has been claimed.
“She just has heard about the prostitutes,” a friend told The New York Post.
“She knew nothing about that. She just said she has to wrap her mind around it.”
The insider added that the claims are “obviously a huge betrayal” for influencer Kate Cassidy and it “hurts a lot”.
“She hasn’t stopped crying,” the friend said. “She’s devastated. She’s got a good support system around her, but this just went from bad to worse. She’s not OK.”
It was previously reported that Argentine detectives had quizzed three hotel staff and two female escorts.
LIAM OFFERED PROSTITUTES $20,000
Sources told local Argentine news outlet La Nacion that two 25-year-old prostitutes admitted to drinking alcohol with Payne in his hotel room before he died.
The women spoke with lead prosecutor Marcelo Roma under oath and shared they were invited to the CasaSur Palermo Hotel after being called via an escort service.
They allege, however, that they did not do drugs with Payne and he seemed “normal” to them.
It has been reported that Payne was seen arguing with one woman over money in the hotel’s lobby, and moments later he fell to his death fro the balcony of his hotel room
A fellow hotel guest told The Sun he overheard Payne say to other woman: “I’ll give you $20,000 just because I can. I have $55 million and I like to help people.”
Another American tourist told The Sun that she saw Liam in the hotel’s lobby shouting “F**k this s**t mate” at around 4.30pm and smashing his laptop.
ZAYN MALIK POSTPONES TOUR
Payne’s former One Direction bandmate, Zayn Malik, has postponed the US leg of his tour as he deals with his “heartbreaking loss”.
Malik’s tour was due to kick off on October 23 in San Francisco and end on December 3 in Newcastle, England.
He released his fourth solo album, Room Under the Stairs, in May.
“Given the heartbreaking loss experienced this week, I’ve made the decision to postpone the US leg of the Stairway To The Sky Tour,” the musician wrote on his Instagram Story.
“The dates are being rescheduled for January and I’ll post them as soon as it’s all set in the next few days. Your tickets will remain valid for the new dates.”
He concluded, “Love you all and thank you for your understanding.”
Malik last week shared a heartfelt statement about the death of Payne and said he was “beyond devastated”.
“I never got to thank you for supporting me through some of the most difficult times in my life,” he wrote.
“When I was missing home as a 17 yr old kid you would always be there with a positive outlook and reassuring smile and let me know you were my friend and that I was loved.”
He continued, “Even though you were younger than me you were always more sensible than me, you were headstrong, opinionated, and gave no f**ks about telling people when they were wrong.
“When it came to the music Liam, you were the most qualified in every sense. I knew nothing in comparison, I was a novice child with no experience and you were already a professional.”
Malik said he “lost a brother” and that he wished he could give Payne a hug “one last time.”
WHY STAR’S DAD CAN’T TAKE HIS SON’S BODY HOME YET
Liam Payne’s grief-stricken father Geoff is working on getting his body repatriated to the UK — and he waved to fans as he was mobbed at hotel where his son died.
He was accompanied by British consular officials and hustled by security officers as he visited the Buenos Aires morgue to identify his son’s body before heading to the local prosecutor’s office to organise the repatriation of his son’s remains.
He later stopped at the hotel to collect his son’s belongings and paused to look at the shrine of tributes laid on the ground in honour of his son who touched the world as a solo singer and a member of One Direction.
Argentine paper Clarin reports the final call on when Liam’s body is released will be made by judge and the prosecutor Marcelo Roma, who is in charge of an investigation for “doubtful death.”
The transfer of his body could be approved as it has been shown that no third parties were involved in the fatal fall.
But toxicological and histopathological tests may cause a delay.
Champagne, prescription drugs, white powder and foil wraps were all found in his trashed hotel room after the fatal fall at around 5pm local time.
Payne was also said to be using a potent drug that can cause hallucinations in the lead-up to his tragic death, according to police.
Before his fatal fall from a balcony of a Buenos Aires hotel room, Payne was understood to be using a dangerous substance called Cristal.
It can cause users to “experience extreme highs and lows, often making them aggressive”, Argentine police told TMZ.
Hallucinations induced by Cristal could have played a role in his fall from the third floor of the Casa Sur Hotel, local authorities have said.
The development comes as it was revealed Payne entered rehab before his death but quit after just two days.
According to The Sun, he checked into The Priory – a private addiction rehab and mental health hospital in North London in July in a bid to beat his drug and alcohol issues.
However his visit lasted little more than 48 hours into his 28-day Addiction and Therapy Program.
Payne told those close to him he wanted to beat his addictions for himself, his seven-year-old son Bear and the rest of his family.
As the investigation into his death continues, a friend of Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy told the New York Post he allegedly pleaded with her to stay with him in Argentina before she left the country and he tragically died.
“Liam didn’t want Kate to leave Argentina,” a friend of Cassidy told The Post.
“He wanted her to stay. She says he begged her to stay.”
The friend who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the couple’s exchange was “actually a little more heated than you’d think”.
Cassidy shared on TikTok on Monday she “was so ready to leave” Argentina after staying two weeks when her trip was meant to last five days.
“Honestly, I love South America, but I hate staying in one place for too long,” she said.
Now, Cassidy has paid tribute to Payne, saying she is at a “complete loss” and called him her “angel”.
“Thank you for all of the kind words and love that has been sent my way. I have been at a complete loss,” she posted on Instagram. “Nothing about the past few days have felt real.”
“I ask and pray that you’ll give me the grace and space to navigate this in private,” she continued. “Liam, my angel. You are everything. I want you to know I loved you unconditionally and completely. I will continue to love you for the rest of my life. I love you Liam.”
Payne, 31, spent his final days creating memories for fans who had descended on the same hotel in Argentina where he was staying to watch a concert by fellow bandmate Niall Horan.
Meanwhile a guest whose friend was waiting to check in to the same trashed hotel room Payne was in has described the harrowing moments leading up to his demise.
A 28-year-old female IT consultant from Washington DC told the Daily Mail staff at the hotel were “on edge” both due to Payne’s erratic behaviour and the fact he kept returning to the lobby rather than checking out of his room.
“I came into the hotel, and he was waiting by the elevator, and it was so clear he wanted someone to recognise him, there was something a bit desperate about him,” the witness said.
“I was with my friends and we did know who he was, but none of us were that bothered.
“When the lift came he suddenly said to us without any prompting: ‘Yes, I’m Liam!’ really drawing it out, and then said ‘All right come on you lot, get in the elevator with me, I love a cuddle’.
“I decided against it and waited for the next one.”
The woman said Payne returned to the lobby 10 minutes later carrying his laptop.
She said he appeared to receive bad news and became very upset.
“He opened his emails and saw one which obviously upset him. Suddenly he took the computer, shouted ‘f*** this s*** mate!’ and started bashing the computer on the ground,” the witness said.
“Everyone, especially the staff was really shocked. It’s a high-end hotel and his behaviour was so out of place – people were just chilling.
“I went over, asked ‘are you OK?’ But he just kind of grunted. Then he said ‘I used to be in a boy band. That’s why I’m so f***ed up.’”
The woman said she saw Payne for a third and final time when he came and went to the lobby yet again only to fall on his face and be ushered to his room.
He fell to his death minutes later.
The witness account matches up with that of fellow guest Brett Watson of Chicago who told ITV he too saw Payne coming and going from the lobby, “causing a disturbance” and “passing out” which resulted in him having to be “physically taken back up to his room”.
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