Nearly 18 months after the death of former One Direction singer Liam Payne, questions persist regarding the circumstances surrounding his fatal fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires. While Argentine prosecutors have formally closed the investigation into several individuals initially charged in connection with his death, a key piece of evidence remains unexplained: approximately 33 minutes of missing CCTV footage from the hotel where the incident occurred.
Payne died on October 16, 2024, at the age of 31, after falling from a third-floor balcony at the Casa Sur Hotel in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. An autopsy later confirmed the cause of death as polytrauma and internal and external bleeding resulting from the fall. Toxicology reports indicated the presence of alcohol, cocaine, and prescription antidepressants in his system at the time.
The Final Timeline
According to witness statements and court documents obtained from the Argentine prosecution, the final hours of Payne’s life followed a concerning trajectory.
On the afternoon of October 16, hotel staff reported erratic behavior from Payne, who was staying alone at the hotel. Witnesses described him as agitated and disoriented. Concerned for his well-being, employees made the decision to intervene.
Around 4:30 PM local time, hotel staff physically assisted Payne from the lobby back to his third-floor room. Court documents later described Payne at this time as “unable to stand” and requiring assistance to move. Staff members placed him on the bed, locked the balcony door, and left him alone in the room.
At approximately 5:07 PM, emergency services were called to the hotel. Payne was found unconscious on the hotel’s internal courtyard and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Missing Footage
Central to ongoing questions about the case is the status of the hotel’s CCTV system during the period immediately preceding Payne’s death.
According to investigative sources cited in Argentine court documents, the hotel’s security system recorded footage throughout the building, including the third-floor hallway, stairwells, and lobby areas. However, when prosecutors requested footage from the relevant time period, they discovered that approximately 33 minutes of recordings were unavailable.
The missing footage covers the critical window between approximately 4:30 PM, when Payne was left in his room, and 5:07 PM, when emergency services were called. Hotel representatives have offered technical explanations for the gap, citing potential system limitations and automatic overwrite functions. However, no independent forensic audit of the hotel’s security system has been made public, and the exact cause of the missing footage remains unconfirmed.
Autopsy Findings and Physical Evidence
The official autopsy report, released by Argentine prosecutors in late 2024, documented that Payne sustained 25 injuries from the fall, with the primary cause of death being severe head trauma and internal bleeding.
Forensic examiners noted a specific detail in their report: Payne’s hands showed no defensive injuries. Medical experts consulted on the case have indicated that the absence of such injuries suggests Payne was likely semi-conscious or unconscious at the moment of impact, as conscious individuals typically extend their arms reflexively to break a fall.
This finding has raised questions about how Payne moved from his bed to the balcony during the period covered by the missing footage, particularly given witness statements that he required assistance to stand just 30 minutes earlier.
Legal Proceedings and Charges
In the months following Payne’s death, Argentine prosecutors charged five individuals in connection with the case. As of March 2026, only two individuals remain scheduled to stand trial.
Braian Paiz, a waiter at a local restaurant, and Ezequiel Pereyra, a former employee of the Casa Sur Hotel, face charges of supplying cocaine to Payne. Both have denied the allegations. If convicted, they could face prison sentences ranging from four to fifteen years under Argentine drug laws. A trial date has not yet been set.
Rogelio “Roger” Nores, an Argentine businessman and friend of Payne who had visited him at the hotel on the day of his death, was initially charged with “abandonment of a person followed by death,” a charge comparable to manslaughter in other jurisdictions. Those charges were dismissed by a judge in late 2025, with the court ruling that Nores had no legal duty of care toward Payne under Argentine law.
Two hotel managers who were on duty at the Casa Sur Hotel on October 16, 2024, were also initially charged but had their charges dismissed on similar grounds. The court determined that their actions in assisting Payne to his room did not constitute criminal negligence.
Hotel’s Response
The Casa Sur Hotel has issued statements through its legal representatives expressing condolences to Payne’s family and confirming cooperation with the investigation. Regarding the missing CCTV footage, the hotel has maintained that its security systems operate on a standard loop recording system that automatically overwrites old footage, and that no footage was intentionally deleted or withheld from investigators.
No independent verification of this explanation has been provided, and requests for a third-party forensic audit of the hotel’s security systems have not been granted.
Family Response and Estate Matters
Payne’s family, including his parents Geoff and Karen Payne, have maintained a largely private stance since his death, releasing occasional statements thanking fans for their support and requesting privacy during their grieving process.
Payne’s former partner, singer Cheryl Cole, with whom he shared a son, Bear Grey Payne (born in 2017), was named administrator of Payne’s estate in early 2025. Legal documents filed in the UK confirm that Cole is managing the estate on behalf of their son, who will inherit his father’s assets upon reaching adulthood.
Representatives for the family have not publicly commented on the missing CCTV footage or the dismissed charges.
Fan Response and Public Interest
Despite the official closure of the investigation into several individuals, interest in the case remains high among Payne’s fanbase. Online communities continue to discuss the case details, with particular focus on the missing footage and the autopsy findings regarding defensive injuries.
Several online petitions have circulated calling for further investigation into the hotel’s handling of security footage and for the release of any remaining evidence. These petitions have accumulated hundreds of thousands of signatures but have not resulted in any official reopening of the investigation.
Current Legal Status
As of March 2026, the case against Paiz and Pereyra remains active, with both defendants awaiting trial in Argentina. No trial date has been announced.
The dismissed charges against Nores and the hotel managers are considered final under Argentine law, though legal experts have noted that new evidence could potentially prompt a review of those decisions. To date, no such evidence has been presented.
The missing CCTV footage has not been recovered, and no independent investigation into the hotel’s security systems has been conducted outside of the initial police inquiry.
