Liam Payne was reportedly seen arguing with an unidentified woman about money in the lobby of his hotel shortly before his tragic fall. According to American tourist Michael Fleishmann, Payne was engaged in a "very tense" discussion with the woman at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, the Buenos Aires Herald reported.
This comes after reports emerged that two mystery women were present in Payne's room during the drug-fueled episode and had left the hotel just moments before his death. According to a statement from the country's National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office, testimonies have been collected from five people connected to the case.
Tense Discussion Before Death
"I'll give you $20,000 dollars just because I can. I have $55 million and I like to help people," the One Direction star supposedly kept saying.
Fleishmann said that the woman was speaking Spanish, and the hotel manager was translating her words for Payne.
The singer appeared "very upset, agitated, a little wild, walking around and pacing" and "seemed very energized," he added.
"It just looked like she was extremely uncomfortable with him, and a little apprehensive," Fleishmann's mother, Toni, told the outlet.
"It was just my son, me, Liam Payne, the woman and the staff. The manager was trying to politely intervene or calm him down. There was a feeling of anxiety in the area."
The Fleishmanns said they ended up sharing an elevator with Payne. Shortly after leaving the hotel, they noticed the woman he had been arguing with outside, talking on the phone.
That evening, Payne fell to his death from the balcony of his third-floor hotel room, which had been left in shambles.
Mystery Continues
Just before the tragic incident, another guest reportedly overheard the former singer say, "I used to be in a boy band...that's why I'm so f–d up."
When officers arrived at the scene, they found the room in complete chaos, with a smashed TV and drug paraphernalia scattered around.
Payne, who had a history of substance abuse issues, died from multiple injuries that caused severe internal and external bleeding.
According to a statement from the country's National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office, obtained by Page Six on Thursday, testimonies have been collected from five people connected to the case, including the two women and three hotel employees.
The prosecutor's office stated that the two women "had been with the musician in his room" at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires in the hours leading up to his death "but had already left the hotel when the incident occurred."
Prosecutors added that their investigation is in part "aimed at determining the possible intervention of third parties in the events prior to the death of the victim."
Investigators are still working to determine whether the fall was accidental or intentional.
