Authorities in Argentina are in possession of security camera footage showing Liam Payne fainting before he fell from his hotel balcony to his death, a local journalist has claimed.
Paula Varela told Buenos Aires' Canal 13 TV show "Socios del Espectáculo" that the video supports the theory that Payne was unconscious before he accidentally fell from the third floor of the CasaSur Palermo hotel on October 16.
"There is footage that has not been released to the media with the balcony where it appears that Liam passes out and tragically, because of where he is, falls off the balcony," she claimed (according to the Mirror).
“If it was next to his bed, he would have fallen into his bed. It's not like he jumped on purpose. This material is in the official case file," Varela added.
Hotel staff found the singer dead in the hotel courtyard minutes after he fell from the balcony of his room. He was 31 years old.
Buenos Aires authorities previously said in a statement to Page Six that "due to the position in which the body was found and the injuries from the fall, it is likely that Payne did not adopt a reflexive stance to protect himself and that he could have fallen while in a state of semi- or total unconsciousness".
The National Criminal and Penitentiary Office also shared with Page Six a preliminary report, which reveals that the former One Direction singer had suffered multiple injuries that resulted in internal and external bleeding.
Additionally, an emergency room doctor stated that Payne "apparently" suffered a "fractured skull and extremely severe injuries that resulted in his immediate death."
Although authorities previously declined to comment on whether the former boy band member was under the influence of drugs at the time of his death, substances and drug paraphernalia were found in his hotel room.
A toxicology report later revealed that he had multiple drugs in his system, including crack, cocaine, and "pink cocaine," which is a recreational drug usually mixed with methamphetamine, ketamine, MDMA, and others.
Hours before his death, multiple eyewitnesses reported Payne acting strangely in the hotel lobby.
An American tourist even claimed that the late singer had fainted shortly before being "escorted back to his room" by hotel staff.
“There was an incident where he was really frustrated and he was breaking his laptop in the lobby, and then the last time he came down, he actually passed out in the hotel lobby,” the hotel resident said in an interview for “Impact x Nightline: One Direction: Liam Payne's Final Days'.
Payne has been open about his battle with mental health and drug addiction, which began during his time in One Direction and worsened after the band broke up in 2016.
Source: protothema.gr
