Liam Payne allegedly destroyed a £30,000 gold Rolex and punched a television during a dispute with two escorts in Buenos Aires, just hours before he fell to his death from a third-floor hotel balcony.
The 31-year-old former One Direction singer died on October 16, 2024, at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel. Official testimony from escorts Aldana Serrano and Lucila Goitea, obtained by the Mail on Sunday, details his final hours.
The two women said they were called to the hotel on the morning of his death and had consensual sex with the singer. The situation turned tense when Payne could not pay their agreed $5,000 (£3,700) fee because he had no physical cash.
Watch smashed and TV punched
According to the testimony, Payne grabbed his £30,000 gold watch and smashed it, boasting he could easily replace it. He then struck the television in the room three times.
After the violent outburst, the singer dropped to his knees, begged the women to stay and said money brought him no joy.
One of the women said: "During our time there, we had sex with him, which was consensual sex, only once, and he wore protection."
She also said: "We told him we only wanted money so he took it and smashed it. He told us he didn’t care about the money. And then he broke the TV, he punched it. He made us understand that he could smash everything because he knew he could pay for it."
Drugs in system
The pair said a drunken Payne serenaded them with his own songs and tried to obtain cocaine. Toxicology tests later found a mixture of cocaine, alcohol and the sedative Klonopin in his system.
Hotel worker Ezequiel Pereyra, 22, and waiter Braian Paiz, 26, have been charged with supplying the narcotics and face trial. Both deny the allegations.
Final timeline
Payne had arrived in the Argentine capital 16 days before his death to deal with his US visa renewal. He spent the first fortnight with girlfriend Kate Cassidy and businessman Rogelio "Roger" Nores, 38, staying sober.
After Cassidy returned to Miami on October 14 and Nores left, Payne relapsed. He was first ejected from the five-star Park Hyatt after an angry, alcohol-fuelled confrontation with staff that left his room damaged. He then checked into the four-star CasaSur Palermo and contacted the two women via WhatsApp, sending bedroom selfies and a video to prove he was the One Direction star.
The women arrived at around 11.30am, handed their IDs to reception and went upstairs. With Payne speaking only English and the women speaking Spanish, they communicated entirely through translation software. Initial attempts to pay by international wire transfer failed.
After roughly two hours, the pair pressed again for their fee. Payne allegedly offered his £30,000 gold watch instead, but they refused, leading to the outburst. The women then went to the lobby and told hotel staff about the broken television and unpaid fee. Payne followed them, pacing frantically between the foyer and his third-floor room.
When the women returned upstairs to collect belongings, one said: "He apologised for giving us a bad time." They left the premises shortly before 4pm. Just over an hour later, at 5.07pm, Payne fell to his death.
