An Argentinian waiter accused of supplying drugs to Liam Payne, has spoken publicly for the first time since the singer's untimely death. Braian Nahuel Paiz, who has been identified by Argentinian authorities as part of an active investigation, claimed that he bears no responsibility in connection with the One Direction singer's sudden death on October 16.
However, Paiz admitted to two hotel meetings with the 31-year-old before before he plunged to his death from his hotel room in Buenos Aires. The 24-year-old also revealed that he spent a night with the former One Direction star during his second meeting at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires where Payne died.
Of Drugs, Meetings and More
Appearing on Argentinian television on Saturday, Paiz shared that he first met Payne at a restaurant in the upscale Puerto Madero neighborhood, where he worked. He said that they exchanged contact information while Payne was dining with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, and two other people.
In an on-camera interview with journalist Guillermo Panizza, Paiz at times appeared nervous, prompting Panizza to clarify his statements to the studio host.
After initially Payne Liam at the restaurant where he worked, Paiz recounted that their next encounter took place on October 2 during a planned meeting at the hotel where the singer was staying.
"We took drugs together but I never took drugs to him or accepted any money," Paiz told local news outlet Telefe Noticias Saturday.
"I have messages where he's offering me money because he was apparently used to offering money for everything but I never accepted anything."
"I never supplied Liam with drugs," he said. "Liam's first contact with me was at my place of work."
"We swapped details and saw each other later that night. It was all normal. He came down from his hotel room to fetch me because I had got lost," he added.
Paiz mentioned that the two "got together" at the hotel, and Payne played him some of the music he was preparing to release.
"I've heard people saying he was taking drugs but the truth is that when he got to the restaurant where I was working he was already under the effects of drugs and he didn't actually eat anything," he continued.
"There was a moment when he approached me and asked me for my contact details. I gave him an Instagram and afterwards he sent me messages because he wanted to take drugs although he had already consumed narcotics."
"It was October 2. While I was in his room we had some whisky shots," he added.
Shady Meetings
The TV program showed a photo of Paiz and Liam together, reportedly taken during their first meeting at the hotel. Paiz explained that they met again on October 13 at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel, just three days before Liam's death.
"We spent the night together, we consumed drugs because the truth is that something intimate happened."
"He wasn't aggressive at all, he behaved really well with me, he was really sweet. He asked me if I was okay," he said, adding that he has text messages to show for it.
"I told Liam a best friend of mine wanted to meet him because he was a fan. He said 'yes' and after I went he appeared outside the place where I lived and managed to get halfway into the building and wanted us to go back to his hotel but I told him I couldn't because I had to go to work."
"I was due to start at 11.30 a.m. but I had to arrive beforehand. That was the last time I saw him. He got into his taxi and left," he added.
Paiz, who is reportedly fired from his job due to his involvement in the ongoing criminal investigation, is the second person linked to Liam to speak out.
Liam's close friend, Rogelio "Roger" Nores, defended his innocence after being named locally last week as one of the three people under investigation.
In response to reports linking him to the drug accusations and claims that he left Liam before his death, the businessman, who has been previously referred to as the singer's manager, stated, "I never abandoned Liam. I went to his hotel three times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened."
The third suspect, who has not yet made a public statement, has been identified locally as 21-year-old hotel employee Ezequiel David Pereyra.
