Liam Payne's friend says the singer came 'close to death' multiple times in new court documents
Liam Payne came "close to death" several times, his friend Roger Nores claimed amid the investigation on the singer's passing.
Nores talked about the former One Direction member's drug history in new court documents obtained by Rolling Stone.
"I was a friend who loved him very much, who helped him selflessly in everything I could, who spent my own money to help him, and even then it was not enough," he said in a court filing.
"I do not consider that I deserve the accusation that is being leveled at me," he added, referring to allegations that he abandoned Payne before his death.
According to Nores, Payne "continued to attend rehab centers of his own free will" to get past his addictions then. "Unfortunately, these treatments were not successful and his addiction worsened as he began to use harder drugs, such as heroin.”
He recalled how Payne "suffered from a severe intoxication that left him close to death" in September last year, adding that the singer got hospitalized in Milan because of it. He was also brought to the hospital two times in London in the same year.
"Professionals had to resort to resuscitation maneuvers to save his life, without his family or friends being able to do anything to avoid these situations or help him," the official documents read.
Nores claimed that Payne's addiction got worse over time.
"Liam suffered a new relapse in his addiction, so he was again taken to the hospital in serious condition, and the professionals had to resort to resuscitation maneuvers to save his life," said Nores, who also added that Payne only began taking drugs again in August this year.
Payne fell to his death from his third-floor balcony later in the day of Oct. 16. He was 31.
TMZ reported that new CCTV footage showed that the late singer was seemingly trying to get out of the Buenos Aires hotel when he died. It's presumed that he "was trying to get from the third floor balcony to the second floor balcony, and then jump a short distance to the ground," the media outlet reported, adding that Payne had used the "balcony escape plan" in the past, with the most recent one in September when he was suspected to have been on a "drug binge."
In a police report obtained by the outlet, it's stated that a black New York Yankees hat and a Louis Vuitton bag were seen next to his body after his passing. According to the media portal, he possibly put them on when he came back to his room as both items were not shown in videos that were previously made public.
A brown leather bag with pills as well as a Jack Daniel's bottle with a note that read "For Liam" was also discovered in the scene.
His room was found destroyed, with broken objects and furniture.
Officials determined that Payne died from multiple traumas and internal and external bleeding caused by the fall. He “did not adopt a reflexive posture to protect himself and ... he may have fallen in a state of semi- or total unconsciousness,” they said.
His body was delivered to his father, Geoff Payne, this November after an autopsy report, including several toxicology tests, showed Payne had traces of alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant in his system in the moments before his passing.
His funeral began on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at St. Mary's Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. Aside from his parents, his girlfriend Kate Cassidy and ex Cheryl Tweedy were there. His former bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson were also spotted at the private service.
