Liam Payne's 'Haunting' Final Moments Remembered by Fellow Hotel Guest: 'It's Burned Into My Brain'

12/16/2024 09:39 PM

The hotel guest said seeing the singer's fatal fall is something he is "never going to forget"

A hotel guest who witnessed Liam Payne's fatal fall remains haunted by the One Direction singer's death. 

Bret Watson was at the CasaSur Palermo in Buenos Aires for his wedding in mid-October. On Oct. 16, he was on the hotel's first floor with his wedding planner when he witnessed Payne fall to his death. 

Payne fell from a third-floor balcony at the hotel and died from multiple injuries and "internal and external" hemorrhages, according to a preliminary autopsy report. He was 31.

Watson revealed in TMZ Presents: Liam Payne: Who's to Blame? that prior to watching Payne fall to his death, he and his wedding guests saw the singer become more intoxicated and behave more erratically as the day continued. Watson said he saw the hotel staff carry Payne by his arms and legs from the lobby to his hotel room. Payne was then left alone in the room and fell from the balcony shortly after.

Watson said that after watching Payne fall, he and the wedding planner ran to the balcony and immediately identified the late musician because he fell on his back and face up. "We could tell right away that it was Liam, and he was motionless," Watson said, per TMZ.

"Time stopped, or really slowed down. Immediately afterwards the wedding planner and myself looked at each other to just see 'Oh my God, this is real. This actually happened.' "

Watson said the sound of Payne's body hitting the ground was more traumatic than seeing him fall. "One, seeing anyone fall like that is heartbreaking, but being able to see it happen and then hear the impact on the ground was more haunting than seeing him fall," he added. 

"Then seeing the immediate aftermath is something that is burned into my brain," he said. "Something I am never going to forget."

Related: Liam Payne Toxicology Results Confirm Multiple Drugs in System — and That He Was 'Not Fully Conscious' During Fatal Fall

In the days following Payne's death, a guest told PEOPLE they had heard "a lot of noise" coming from Payne's room, including "a really loud, violent scream" the day he fell.

"I thought it was construction. I thought they were working on the room," the hotel guest said, explaining the noise sounded like "heavy lifting" or "banging."

The guest witnessed hotel staff "going in and out" of Payne's room, where "more noise" was made around 4:30 p.m. Police were called to the scene shortly after 5 p.m. local time, and Payne was said to have died shortly afterward.

Minutes after the noise started back up, the guest recalled, "I heard a really loud, violent scream."

Related: Zayn Malik Pays Tribute to Liam Payne at First Tour Stop Since He Died: 'Love You Bro'

Weeks after his death, Argentina's National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office issued a press release stating three people had been arrested and charged in Argentina in connection with Payne's death. The suspects are charged with abandonment of a person followed by death, as well as supply and facilitation of narcotics.

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TMZ Presents: Liam Payne: Who's to Blame? airs on Fox on Dec. 16 at 8 p.m. and will be available to stream on Hulu on Dec. 17.