Liam Payne died after a fatal fall from the third-floor balcony of his hotel on Wednesday 

While initial reports said Liam Payne “jumped” from the third-floor balcony of his CasaSur hotel room, and police later claimed he “fell,” new evidence suggests the late One Direction singer may have been trying to escape when he plummeted to his death on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at age 31.

According to witnesses, the police report, a 911 call and surveillance footage, Payne was causing a ruckus in the hotel lobby while visibly under the influence of alcohol before three employees carried him to his room minutes before he died. At the time, he was believed to be conscious and able to hold his head up after having stood on his own moments earlier, according to a news publication that re-examined the evidence.

Upon arriving at his hotel room, Payne resisted and fought them off, apparently not wanting to enter; however, staff had a master key to open the door and put the “Teardrops” singer inside before moving a mirror from the wall directly outside his room in an apparent effort to avoid harming him, surveillance video showed.

The evidence strongly suggests that Payne had an escape plan, as at the time of his death he was carrying a bag tied around his shoulder (something he did not have with him in the hall), as well as a hat which he must have put on inside his room.

He also appeared to attempt to reach the second-floor balcony first before making a shorter jump to the ground, as a brown leather bag was discovered on the balcony floor below his hotel room with a note reading “for Liam,” along with several pill bottles and a bottle of Jack Daniel’s.

The report appeared to suggest he dropped the bag on the second floor before attempting to maneuver his way to the balcony below him.

Sources with direct knowledge of the situation told the news publication that they believe members of the Argentine security forces are trying to protect the hotel, and insiders claim that the property’s management should be held accountable for allegedly caring more about maintaining peace in the lobby and public places than about Payne’s life and safety.

Payne, who has hated being cooped up in hotel rooms since his time in One Direction, has previously used a balcony to escape, as recently as mid-September when he used a garden hose to climb down from the balcony of a rented home in Florida after his bodyguard forced him into a room on suspicion the pop star was using drugs, sources said.

The late boy band member was recently laid to rest, and former One Direction members Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson attended the funeral on Wednesday, November 20.

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