Liam Payne's 'final hours shared as text messages between hotel workers released'

Liam Payne reportedly called hotel reception "all the time" to request alcohol and inquire about purchasing cocaine, according to a senior hotel employee's startling revelations about the singer's final hours. A bellboy, who delivered a fruit platter to Liam after his check-in at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, claimed he was insulted by the artist when he refused to procure cocaine for him.

Esteban Grassi, the chief receptionist who dialed 999 for urgent medical help before Liam's tragic fall from a balcony under the influence of drink and drugs, is now part of an ongoing judicial inquiry along with four others. Argentinian news outlet Todo Noticias released WhatsApp messages allegedly submitted to court by Grassi, who was one of three individuals seen carrying Liam back to his room on the third floor shortly before his death.

In one message exchange, a contact saved as Santiago Benitez Bellboy AM in Esteban's phone wrote: "Hello Esteban how are you? Sorry for bothering you but I wanted to let you know about a little situation I had with the person in room 310. When I went to hand him a guest amenity and welcome him to the hotel and Argentina, he invited me into his room (which was a complete mess) and asked me if I could get him cocaine."

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The bellboy recounted his alarming experience, stating: "I told him, 'I'm sorry sir, but neither I or any other staff can help you with that type of service' to which he replied that I was useless and told me to get out of his sight. I felt a bit threatened because he didn't behave very politely."

He mentioned informing head of security Gilda Martin about the incident, saying: "I'm going to tell Gilda this too so you're both aware and there's no misunderstandings in case this man mentions my name again at some point in his stay, because he asked me what my name was. I'm just telling you and Gilda this.", reports the Mirror.

Mr Grassi attempted to alleviate the bellboy's concerns by advising him "not to worry" about the man's remarks. In further revelations made to investigators about the individual identified as Liam's activities at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel, according to Todo Noticias, Mr Grassi described: "I understand he was more active at night, that he rang reception repeatedly to ask for alcohol all the time and where he could get drugs, specifically cocaine."

Mr Grassi also claimed he had to translate for Liam when he was with two female escorts due to a language barrier, explaining that they didn't speak English and the singer did not speak Spanish. Mr Grassi, who was asked by the former One Direction star to act as a translator, confirmed earlier reports that the singer had requested $300 and alcohol when they visited his hotel room.

He said: "Liam asked me to act as translator. That's when they tell me he had to pay them but they didn't specify why.

"They told me he owed them 5,000 dollars but it seemed strange to me because he had asked me previously for 300 dollars and although I'm not an expert about these things, the amount of money they were asking for seemed a bit excessive to me."

Screenshots of WhatsApp messages exchanged with one of the women, allegedly from Liam's phone, were also published by Todo Noticias. The news outlet claimed the sex worker showed Mr Grassi the conversation to prove he owed them money.

In a detailed account of Liam's final moments alive, after the singer returned to reception following an alleged room trashing incident, Mr Grassi gave a statement to investigators, published yesterday by Todo Noticias.

He stated: "He was staring blankly, in a totally drunken state. It was clear he wasn't okay. When we opened the door we went in behind him and he just walked around.

"That's when I saw everything was broken, vases, lamps, his clothes strewn everything around the room, the towels stained with wine, broken bottles. I didn't see blood or any type of drug."

Alleging that Liam fainted several times "because he was very drunk" in the minutes leading up to his third-floor balcony fall, he added: "We heard he was once again smashing up everything inside, as if he was throwing or kicking things.

"We stayed outside trying to hear if things were calming down or how the situation was evolving and how we could intervene."

After making his emergency call, he learned of Liam's fatal fall when "one of the sales lads appeared and told me, 'He threw himself off the balcony'". He added: "I asked him if he was alive and he said he didn't know, that he'd fallen onto the restaurant terrace and heard the noise, but no-one had seen how he'd fallen."

It remains unclear whether Mr Grassi's account of Liam's final hours was from a previous statement or from a recent questioning after being informed he would be questioned again in light of potential charges and advised to get a defence lawyer.

This questioning was reportedly set for next week. Argentine media earlier this week indicated that the number of suspects in the Liam Payne investigation has risen to five, with two hotel employees, identified locally as Mr Grassi and Gilda Martin, now formally under investigation.

The three individuals previously informed they were under investigation are Liam's close friend Rogelio 'Roger' Nores, ex-hotel worker Ezequiel David Pereyra, and Braian Nahuel Paiz. Waiter Paiz, who has been accused of supplying Liam with drugs, told journalist Guillermo Panizza on Telefe Noticias last month that he had smoked marijuana and Liam had taken cocaine during their second meeting at the hotel shortly before the singer's death.

But he maintained: "I never took drugs to him or accepted any money. I have messages where he's offering me money because he was apparently used to offering money for everything but I never accepted anything."

Mr Nores has consistently professed his innocence after local reports named him as one of three individuals being probed. Upon his identification as a suspect in the drug-related accusations and claims he deserted Liam prior to the tragedy, the businessman – often referred to as the singer's manager – declared: "I never abandoned Liam, I went to his hotel three times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened. There were over 15 people at the hotel lobby chatting and joking with him when I left. I could have never imagined something like this would happen."