Liam Payne’s close friend has shared the heartbreaking last conversation they had with a pop star before he plunged 45 feet to his death from a Buenos Aires hotel.
Jodie Richards, who previously taught Payne performing arts at Pink Productions in Wolverhampton, thought initial reports of the ex-One Direction members’ deaths were ‘fake’.
Payne suffered a fractured skull after falling from the third floor of the Casa Sur Palmero Hotel in Buenos Aires shortly after 5pm (ART) last night.
In the wake of the 31-year-old’s death, tributes poured in from around the world as his friends and family mourned.
Mrs Richards revealed her tragic correspondence with Payne just hours before his sudden death.
In an interview with Sky News, Ms Richards explained that Payne had messaged her to “touch base” and check on everyone in his hometown of Wolverhampon.
Jodie Richards, who previously taught Payne performing arts at Pink Productions in Wolverhampton, has revealed their heartbreaking final exchange
She revealed that the pair often talked almost daily, and that the star had been in ‘contact’ with her just days before his death on Monday (Photo: A reproduction of the texts)
She revealed that she and the 31-year-old spoke almost daily for years as he became more and more popular.
In screenshots obtained by the news station, Payne texted Jodie on Monday to see how she was doing, at which point she told him she was at the gym with her son.
After receiving a photo of the singer with his hand on his head, Ms Richards said: ‘Sorry, I just got home.’
But when news broke of the star’s tragic death in Buenos Aires a few days later, the close friend sent a series of panicked and heartbreaking text messages.
“Liam!!!,” read the first, followed by: “Please tell me this isn’t true!!!!!!”
Her next tragic messages to the star also read: ‘Please Liam.
‘Good night Mr. P. I have no words and don’t want to say goodbye. When I wake up, I’m sure it will all be a dream.’
Reliving the horrific moment when news of Payne’s death broke, she told SkyNews: “I got messages from friends saying, ‘Please tell me it’s [Liam’s death] not true.
“So I had to Google it. I couldn’t believe what was happening, I thought it was fake news.
Liam Payne (pictured in Argentina) may have been ‘semi-conscious or fully unconscious’ when he fell fatally from a third-floor hotel balcony, Argentina’s public prosecutor’s office said.
The hotel balcony from which Liam Payne fell yesterday in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is circled
Former One Direction singer Liam Payne has died aged 31 after falling from a balcony in Argentina
Liam Payne has been in Argentina in recent weeks and was pictured chatting with fans
During his short stay in the city, he took time to socialize with fans outside his hotel
Last night thousands of fans gathered outside the hotel where Liam Payne died
Some were pictured lighting candles and praying for the singer
Others held each other sobbing as they paused to remember Mr Payne, who was one-fifth of the most successful boy band of the 2010s.
‘I tried to call him but he obviously didn’t answer. I tried texting him but it wasn’t about a read message.
“And obviously when I turned on the television, it became more and more apparent that it wasn’t fake.
Ms Richards also spoke about images of Liam Payne’s dead body published by TMZ after his death.
Following backlash from fans, the publication has since removed the images.
“I find it sickening to be honest that those images were shown as a friend, you don’t want to see them,” she said.
“But especially because he has a child, he has a mother and father who had to see that footage and it will be spread for years to come and that’s not really how you want to remember Liam.”
Argentina’s prosecutor’s office said Liam Payne may have been “semi-conscious or completely unconscious” when he fatally fell from a third-floor hotel balcony.
Detectives confirmed that a range of substances had been seized from the hotel room ‘indicating a previous situation of alcohol and drug use’.
It contradicts police reports that the 31-year-old had ‘jumped’ from the third floor balcony.
His girlfriend Kate Cassidy posted a photo of the couple on her Instagram last August
A heartbreaking video shows Liam Payne singing and dancing with his former bandmate Niall Horan, where he later posted a photo with Niall on Snapchat with the caption: ‘Reunited.’
Liam Payne with his father Geoff and mother Karen after the X Factor final in London in 2010
In addition to father Geoff and mother Karen, Payne had two sisters, Nicola (left) and Ruth (right).
Nine weeks ago, Liam Payne’s father Geoff posted a photo of his son and his dog, writing in the caption: “#Like if you love my son!” – a post that has since been flooded with tributes
Prior to Payne’s death, hotel staff frantically called 911 about “an aggressive male possibly under the influence of drugs or alcohol” who was “destroying his room.”
Hotel guests claimed to hear “violent noises” and assumed construction work was going on in the room, according to the BBC.
Photos have also emerged from his luxury suite, which appear to show a destroyed television, surfaces covered in aluminum foil and white powder, as well as scorch marks on the wooden surface.
According to a preliminary report into the pop star’s death, “all indications” were that Payne was alone when he died.
According to local news Through various outlets, Payne was taken to the judicial mortuary, where medical staff performed an autopsy last night.
After preparing a preliminary report, they suspect Payne died of external and internal bleeding after suffering several injuries.
Authorities have requested further tests, including toxicological, biochemical and histopathological examinations.
The Public Prosecution Service said forensic reports show that no injuries indicating third party involvement were observed and that the autopsy is compatible with a fall from height.
However, officials are still launching an investigation into “possible third party involvement” in the events before his death.