‘We’re a little bit worried he’ll do something, that he’ll put his life at risk’
“Hello, good morning. I just called and my line got disconnected. I’m calling (from) the CasaSur hotel in Palermo, Costa Rica 6032,” the manager named “Esteban” said.
“We have a guest who is (allegedly) high and drunk; and when he is conscious, he is destroying his room and we need you to send someone, please. We need you to send someone urgently because I don’t know if his life is in danger,” he said.
“They must be in a room that has a balcony. And well, we’re a little bit worried he’ll do something, that he’ll put his life at risk,” he said.
The manager went on to say that Payne had been a guest “for the past three days.”
When “Esteban” was asked if police would be dispatched as well, he quickly said that emergency services only need to send “SAME,” which is Argentina’s name for paramedics.
Payne reportedly “smashed his laptop, and had to be carried back to his room.”
By the time medical personnel arrived, Payne’s body was on the ground outside the hotel with La Nacion reporting that “a bottle of whiskey, a lighter and a cellphone” were also found at the scene.
Medics confirmed that Payne, who had been in Argentina for several weeks, suffered “very serious injuries” and died instantly, police said in a statement.
“Based on what the team saw, there was apparently a cranial fracture and extremely serious injuries that led to his immediate death.”
But unverified photos taken of his alleged room showed a chaotic scene with a smashed television and discarded foil and a white powder, which police will test to see if it is cocaine, La Nacion reported.
But in the leadup to his death, Payne was reportedly “struggling with issues related to his ex-fiancee, Maya Henry.”
Malik left the band in 2015, the same year they released their fifth, and most recent studio album, Made in the A.M. The band went on indefinite hiatus in 2016, with the group’s members all embarking on solo careers.
Payne released the EP First Time in 2018, and his 18-song studio album, LP1, the following year.
Speaking to Stephen Bartlett on The Diary Of The CEO podcast in 2021, Payne was open about his struggle with substance abuse and the pressures of fame.
“I was worried how far my rock bottom was going to be. Where’s rock bottom for me?” he said. “It feels to me, like when we were in the band. The best way to secure us was to lock us in our rooms, and what is in the room? A mini-bar. So I had a party-for-one that seemed to carry on for many years of my life, and then you look back at how long you’ve been drinking? And Jesus Christ that’s a long time, even for someone as young as I am.”