Liam Payne's Close Friend Reveals Last Messages Singer Sent Her
A close friend of Liam Payne revealed the last messages she received from the late singer, including a text sent hours before he died after falling from a third-floor balcony at his Buenos Aires, Argentina, hotel.
Jodie Richards taught the "Teardrops" singer at her performing arts company Pink Productions in Liam's native Wolverhampton, England. The two remained in close contact over the years.
Jodie told Sky News on Thursday, October 17, that Liam reached out to her on Monday, October 14, asking what she was doing. She replied that she was at the gym with her son, and Liam responded, "nice." The One Direction alum then shared a snapshot with his hand pressed against the side of his forehead while sitting on the bed in his hotel room.
He followed up the photo, asking, "Jo?" When she replied, "Sorry x, just home," Liam wrote back, "OK."
Liam next texted Jodie and asked if she was awake in the early hours of Wednesday, October 16, writing "Hey," and "U up?" at 4:01 a.m. her time in England. Four hours later, Jodie responded, "Hey x. I am now."
When Jodie asked what he was up to, Liam texted back, "chilling," and said he was in "Argentina" when asked where he was. The text chain she shared with Sky News showed Jodie next wrote, "Liam!!!" to the singer after the news broke of his death, followed by, "Please tell me this isn't true!!!! Please Liam." There was no response.
Jodie told Sky News, "I'm really close to Liam, we've been friends for years and he was away yesterday in Argentina and I think he just wanted to touch base and check I was OK, see how everyone was back at home."
She continued, "We speak near enough every day and have done for years. Obviously he's always been there at times I've needed him even though he's not local."
"He's always somewhere more glamorous than we are so L.A., Argentina, I have to look at the time difference to see where he is, he usually texts me and it's the middle of our night," Jodie explained.
"He seemed fine, he looked happy, he looked healthy — no reason for any kind of concern and then obviously I heard it on the news," she shared with the outlet.
Jodie "couldn't believe" the reports that Liam had died. "I thought it was fake news. I tried to phone him. Obviously, he wasn't answering. I tried to text him, it wasn't going to a 'read' message — normally it does quite quickly, then as I turned the telly on it was getting more and more apparent it wasn't fake."
The "Strip That Down" singer fell to his death from a balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel at approximately 5 p.m. local time on Wednesday, October 16.
A hotel employee had called authorities, saying Liam " overindulged on drugs and alcohol " prior to the fall, according to audio obtained via local media by Telemundo.
The staffer told a 911 dispatcher that Liam was "breaking the whole room," and pleaded, "Well, we need you to send someone, please."
After stating that the police were needed "urgently," the employee explained that they believed the guest was at risk. "The guest is in a room that has a balcony and, well, we are a little afraid that he might do something life-threatening," the caller said.
