Six signs of Liam Payne spiralling in final days - record label blow, dazed hook-up and hotel doom

One Direction star Liam Payne, who tragically died falling from the third floor of a hotel on Wednesday, suffered several setbacks in the weeks leading to his sad death

One Direction singer Liam Payne was hit with difficult blows in the days before his tragic death.

The former X Factor singer devastatingly died aged 31 on Wednesday after plunging from the third floor of a hotel in Argentina. A body was found in an internal patio of the Casa Sur Palermo hotel shortly after 5pm local time. It's believed Liam fell from around 14 metres and suffered "very serious injuries incompatible with life".

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 Cheryl back in 2017. The star suffered several setbacks in recent weeks, with his own publicist having resigned earlier in the month, leaving him without any guidance in a turbulent time.

The resignation coincided with actions taken by his ex-fiancé Maya Henry, who recently began legal proceedings against the singer after she accused him of repeatedly contacting her.

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A source claimed Liam's eight-year-long music career may have felt like it was "crumbling" at the end, and it "must have absolutely devastated him". Here, the Mirror takes a look back...

Record label blow

Liam suffered a heartbreaking setback to his music career just days before his death, when the solo singer was reportedly dropped by his record label, Universal Music. According to the Daily Mail, Liam was axed by the record label in the days preceding his death, with a source telling the publication: "Liam's advance was massive and he didn't recoup [it]. Out of all of the One Direction boys, Liam was on the wrong path musically."

He had been working on his second album, however it is believed that the release was put on hold prior to Universal dropping him. Following his death, The Universal Music Group shared a tribute on social media, which read: "We are devastated by the tragic passing of Liam Payne.

His legacy will live on through his music and the countless fans he inspired and who adored him. We send our deepest condolences to Liam's family and loved ones."

Mystery hotel women

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.

Before 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.

Girlfriend leaving

Liam had been in Argentina with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, before she left the country to fly home. He shared photographs on Snapchat of their break and 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."

On October 12, Kate flew back home to Florida, telling 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'."

Haunting videos with fans

Fans of Liam have shared haunting videos of his final days and hours and he greeted them during his Argentina trip. One TikTok video shows the star meeting well-wishers outside his hotel, and 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." But away from the laughter, there are concerns Liam wasn't in a good headspace and was spiralling out of control.

Final struggles

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.

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 claimed 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."

Hotel doom

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.

The pictures show traces of a white powder, burnt aluminium foil, empty champagne glasses and a smashed TV. If tests show that items found inside Liam's room are narcotics, then police intend to investigate who supplied them to him.

Before the catastrophe struck, staff at Hotel Casa Sur had desperately reached out to emergency services twice. The reception head underscored the urgency during one such plea: "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 call cut off, an employee who later pinpointed Esteban rang again with a plea: "I don't know if the guest's life is in danger." Continuing in worry, he said: "The room has a balcony and we are afraid he might do something. Just send an ambulance, only an ambulance."

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 arrived. A short while later, the tourist saw the "road full of cops," as the full tragedy on Wednesday evening began to unfold.

Authorities have since confirmed the chilling details of Liam's shocking death, revealing that he "jumped from the balcony" of his hotel room in Argentina, plunging to his death, reports indicate. In an official statement given to The Associated Press, police disclosed that the singer "had jumped from the balcony of his room," apparently dispelling any notions of an accidental fall or foul play.

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