Hotel guest who met One Direction’s Liam Payne in the lobby before death revealed star…

October 18, 2024, 2:59 pm | Updated: October 18, 2024, 3:07 p.m

An eyewitness who was staying at the same hotel as Liam Payne on the day of his tragic death has recounted her disturbing final encounter with the star.

“Rebecca,” not her real name, was staying at the same hotel as Liam Payne, the Casasur Hotel in Argentina, on the afternoon he fell to his death.

The 28-year-old met Liam in the hotel lobby on Wednesday afternoon and took photos of him at 4.26pm local time – just before he tragically fell from the third floor hotel balcony.

During their meeting, Washington DC’s Rebecca said Liam told her: “I used to be in a boy band – that’s why I’m so shitty.”

Rebecca shared that something seemed “desperate” about his behavior.

Rebecca told The Sun that the staff at the hotel were “a little nervous” as Liam hadn’t checked out of his suite as expected.

She said when she entered the lobby area, Liam was waiting by the elevator and “wanted someone to recognize him.”

“When the elevator came, he suddenly said to us without prompting: ‘Yes, I’m Liam!’ I really dragged it out and then said, “All right, come on everyone, get in the elevator with me, I love cuddling.”

“I decided against it and waited for the next one, but some of the other girls got in with him and halfway down he started saying, ‘Oh, you guys are Americans, I live in West Palm Beach.’

Read more: Liam Payne’s tragic death after a tragic fall from a hotel in Argentina – what we know so far

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She also said she was “shocked” after hearing the news of Liam’s death, having spoken to him just moments before.

Because of Payne’s erratic behavior, the police were called before his fall and had to be escorted back to his hotel room.

The Sun said police were called at 5.04pm after Liam fell and an ambulance arrived at 5.11pm when he was pronounced dead.

In a statement, Alberto Crescenti, head of Buenos Aires’ public rescue service, said he fell about 14 meters and suffered “very serious injuries incompatible with life.”

Police confirmed they found “obvious drugs, alcohol, destroyed items and furniture” in his room.

Forensic teams announced that a whiskey bottle, a lighter and a mobile phone were found on his body, along with suspected narcotics.

Payne has been extremely open about his struggles with mental health and alcoholism.

“It’s almost like putting on the Disney costume before you go on stage, and under the Disney costume I was pissed most of the time because there was no other way to understand what was going on.” he said before.

In a previous interview with YouTuber Logan Paul, he also said, “There was a moment where there was an argument backstage and one member in particular threw me against the wall.”

“So I said to him, ‘If you don’t remove these hands, there’s a good chance you’ll never use them again,'” he said.

A full toxicology report is currently pending and has yet to confirm whether the drugs played a role in his death.