A hotel guest who saw One Direction star Liam Payne plunge to his death has revealed the tragedy will forever remained ‘burned into his brain’.
Singer Payne, 31, died after falling from his third floor balcony at Hotel CasaSur in Buenos Aires on October 16.
The musician was ‘heavily intoxicated’ at the time of his death, with a report finding traces of ‘alcohol, cocaine and prescription antidepressants’ in his system.
Officials have since ruled out suicide as the cause of death, explaining that ‘in the state he was in, he did not know what he was doing and could not understand it’.
Horrified tourist Bret Watson witnessed the moment Payne plunged past his hotel window and said he has been left ‘haunted’ by the tragedy.
‘It’s something that’s been burned into my brain and something I’m never going to forget,’ Mr Watson admitted.
Recounting the harrowing account of the star’s death to TMZ, Mr Watson said: ‘We happened to be looking out of the window of our hotel at the pool area to show her [the planner] the view from the hotel.
‘We saw Liam fall… and so we immediately rushed out on the balcony to see what it was and when we looked down we could see that it was Liam laying on the ground.’
One Direction star Liam Payne (pictured) fell to his death from his hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on October 16
A drone view shows the balcony on the CasaSur Hotel from where Payne fell to his death
Horrified tourist Bret Watson witnessed the moment Payne plunged past his hotel window and said he has been left ‘haunted’ by the tragedy
Mr Watson claimed that in the run-up to the fatal fall, he and other wedding guests had seen Liam throughout the day getting increasingly more intoxicated.
Describing the horror fall as ‘heartbreaking’, Mr Watson said he believed Payne died immediately after plunging from his third floor balcony.
‘Afterwards, the wedding planner and I looked at each other like “oh my God, this is real, this actually happened”,’ he added.
The hotel guest’s comments featured in TMZ Presents: Liam Payne: Who’s to Blame?, which aired in the US on Sunday.
However, the documentary has come under fire for its content, which has been branded ‘invasive’ by horrified fans.
One furious fan on X wrote: ‘Some of these topics are so invasive. just let him rest.’ Another posted: ‘I can imagine how mad, disappointed, furious and angry Liam Payne’s family and his former bandmates feel.’ While a third said: ‘This is so gross. the case is not even closed.’
The documentary comes almost a month after Liam’s funeral, which was attended by fellow One Direction band mates, friends and loved ones.
Payne had been in Argentina while trying to renew his US visa having relocated to Florida with his girlfriend, American influencer Kate Cassidy.
Pallbearers carry the coffin of former member of One Direction singer Liam Payne at his funeral on November 20
An emotional Harry Style departs the funeral of fellow One Direction bandmate, Liam Payne
One Direction singer Niall Horan (left) is pictured at Payne’s funeral alongside former One D star, Zayn Malik (right)
Pictured are the members of One Direction in November 2013. Left to right – Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson
He was forced to extend his trip to the South American country after his visa application to stay in America was initially refused due to his drug abuse.
His girlfriend Cassidy flew back to the States after feeling homesick a few days before Liam died.
In the run-up to his death, witnesses claimed the singer had been ‘behaving erratically’, saying he smashed up his laptop and had taken drugs.
Images obtained exclusively by MailOnline revealed at one point during his stay at the hotel, Payne was carried through the lobby by hotel workers, seemingly intoxicated.
Police are now investigating the death, with five suspects set to learn if they will be prosecuted shortly.
It comes as Argentine businessman Roger Nores insisted he had nothing to do with the death of his ‘very good friend’, Liam.
Mr Nores is believed to be one of five people under investigation by authorities following the singer’s death from traumatic head injuries.
Roger Nores has denied being responsible for the death of One Direction singer Liam Payne, claiming the star was ‘playful’ in the hours before he died
Mr Nores reportedly met Liam Payne in 2020 and had been pictured with him in Argentina before the singer died
Liam looks at his laptop in the CasaSur Hotel lobby in Buenos Aires on Wednesday at 4.26pm The alarm was raised at 5.04pm following his fall
Reports in Argentinian media have named waiter Barian Paiz, hotel worker Ezequiel Pereyra and Nores as being accused of providing drugs for payment; Nores is also charged with abandoning Payne before he died.
But Nores – who had previously denied being a person of interest in the case – claims Liam was ‘playful, happy and fine’ when he left him an hour before he fell.
‘He was in good spirits, he was talking to 10 or 15 Americans that were here for a wedding,’ he tells TMZ, which has produced a new documentary examining who bears responsibility for the pop star and father-of-one’s shocking death.
‘He was perfectly balanced, talking to everybody, having fun, laughing, so nothing out of the ordinary. So that’s when I said, “bye”.
‘He seemed playful and happy. I went to the hotel three times to check on him. He seemed tipsy but nothing out of the ordinary.’
Eyewitnesses, however, claim Liam was not ‘coherent’ and appeared to be under the influence.
And prosecutors have obtained a text allegedly sent by Liam to Nores asking him if he can get drugs. The message allegedly reads: ‘Can you get 6 grams?’
Prosecutors claim Nores failed to look after his friend in the hours before he died. Nores has previously been accused of controlling Liam’s spending and granted him access to alcohol and drugs.
The energy magnate was photographed with Payne in Buenos Aires, including at the concert for his former bandmate Niall Horan.
Liam pictured with girlfriend Kate Cassidy in March 2023. She had stayed with Liam elsewhere in Argentina but flew home before he checked into the CasaSur
Fans staged a vigil outside in the hours after his death as it became clear that Liam was the person who had fallen to his death
According to Page Six, Mr Nores had been aware of Liam’s issues with drugs, and had emailed Liam’s father Geoff and his management team about the issue
He said: ‘Liam stayed at my friend’s ranch down in Palm Beach and since the first day he arrived he was monitored and treated by professional doctors who specialise in addictions.
‘He stayed fully clean without access to any hard drug (sic) during his whole stay.
‘The plan was for him to work on the preparation for a music tour and stay healthy and busy with work. A plan he successfully followed during his whole stay in the US.’
But he continued: ‘I’m really concerned for his wellbeing while he is out there and I hope you can bring professional doctors to check on his health regularly as soon as possible as I did while he was out in the US.
‘I am going to stay fully out of the picture and disconnected from now on and I wish you all the best with Liam’s health and career.’
Last month, Argentine media claimed a Miami-based psychologist had written to Mr Nores in September to advise that Liam was ‘impossible’ to treat because of his recurring mental health crises.
She had also warned of the dangers of mixing alcohol and sertraline, an antidepressant also known as Zoloft.
Toxicology tests found Payne had alcohol, cocaine and sertraline in his system when he died.
Liam’s father, Geoff Payne, submitted the email to the court for prosecutors.
Pictured is Liam Payne’s father, Geoff Payne, as he waves to well-wishers outside the hotel where his son died on October 18
Tributes are left by heartbroken One Direction fans in the star’s hometown of Wolverhampton after his death
More floral tributes left in honour of Liam Payne in his hometown of Wolverhampton
Nores was deemed persona non grata at Liam’s funeral on November 20; sources said he had ‘never been popular’ with the 1D star’s wider circle.
It came after texts were leaked from a prosecution file earlier this week, showing an alleged exchange between Liam and an escort on WhatsApp.
The prosecution file, obtained by Argentine journalist Mauro Szeta, showed messages from a nameless US phone number from Florida offering the escort $5,000 to ‘play’ and ‘party’. It had also sent her a link to Payne’s Instagram profile.
‘I have all day… I’d gift you $5,000… US dollars,’ the message reads. ‘You come to my hotel, we party, just me and u.’
Liam had been staying at the hotel without girlfriend Kate Cassidy, who had left Argentina two days beforehand to return home to Miami.
Two employees at the Buenos Aires hotel where the 31-year-old singer are also among the five people under investigation.
One is a waiter who admitted taking drugs with the singer in his hotel room before his death.
Braian Nahuel Paiz, 24, met Liam at the restaurant where he worked two nights before his tragic death and claims they spent those nights drinking whiskey and taking cocaine.
Paiz has been arrested on charges of supplying and facilitating narcotics, but has denied any involvement in Liam’s death.
A photo showing Paiz with Liam Payne, allegedly during their first arranged meeting at a hotel
Liam last post on Snapchat before he fell to his death from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires
The paraphernalia left in Liam’s room when police entered the hotel suite. Paiz admitted the pair ‘took drugs together’
Speaking ahead of the TMZ documentary, Paiz admitted to taking cocaine with Liam but denied accepting any money for drugs, including a Rolex watch.
‘They say I’m the dealer, that I carry drugs, that I sold them and the truth is that no, no I didn’t sell them,’ Paiz told TMZ.
When asked if he used drugs with Liam on the night he met the star, Paiz added: ‘Yeah, there was. There was cocaine – there wasn’t even a lot of it but we had some with whiskey.’
‘The second night too. The soap box and some aluminum foil was already there – drugs scattered everywhere.’
A recently unearthed prosecution file revealed Liam called hotel employees ‘all the time’ to ask for alcohol and advice on where he could buy cocaine shortly before he died.
Esteban Grassi, the chief receptionist who is now under formal investigation, claimed Payne called down ‘insistently’ to ask for alcohol, and to ask where he could get cocaine – allegedly insulting a member of staff who said he could not help.
Liam’s funeral was held on November 20 at St Mary’s Church in Buckinghamshire.
Among those attending the late singer’s send-off included his grieving girlfriend and tearful former bandmates, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson.
Payne’s ex Cheryl Cole, the mother of their seven-year-old son, Bear, was also in attendance, as well as music mogul, Simon Cowell, whose show the X Factor launched Liam’s music career.
A source previously told the Mail that Ms Cassidy had become disillusioned by the singer’s relapse into drug-taking, prompting her return to Miami.
Following his death, his girlfriend wrote on Instagram: ‘My heart is shattered in ways I can’t put into words. I will love you for the rest of my life and beyond, carrying our dreams and memories with me everywhere I go.’
Pictured are Liam Payne and his girlfriend Kate Cassidy during a TikTok video before his death
Liam Payne died after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires in October
She has since shared a touching home video of moments between her and Liam during their two-year relationship.
The case is being overseen by Argentina’s national courts. Lawyers acting for Nores had asked for his case to be investigated by local prosecutors – initially approved by Laura Graciela Bruniard.
But national prosecutors appealed and Judge Marcelo Lucini, of the National Court of Appeals in Criminal and Correctional Matters, said this was ‘premature’ and returned the case to national prosecutors.
Prosecutors have pored over 800 hours of video footage and have taken ‘several dozen’ testimonies from witnesses, as well as data from Liam’s phone and those belonging to others.
Prosecutors are now hunting for video footage that appears to show the moment of Payne’s death. Such footage exists but has not been found, according to Argentine news outlet Infobae.
