Liam Payne in interview in Madrid, Spain on May 4, 2018.Photo:Vitor De Los Reyes/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Vitor De Los Reyes/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
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 witnessedPayne fall to his death.
Paynefell from a third-floor balconyat the hotel anddied from multiple injuries and “internal and external” hemorrhages, according to a preliminary autopsy report. He was 31.
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, perTMZ.
Liam Payne on January 12, 2018 in London, England.Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty
Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty
“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.”
In the days following Payne’s death, a guest told PEOPLEthey 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.”
Liam Payne on February 19, 2023 in London, England.David M. Benett/Getty
David M. Benett/Getty
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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.
source: people.com
