A man who Argentinan authorities have named in the ongoing investigation into Liam Payne‘s death has broken his silence and has insisted that he had no part in the singer’s tragic fate.
On October 16, the world came to stand still after it was confirmed that former One Direction member Liam Payne has died after falling from his CasaSur Palermo Hotel room in Buenos Aires.
Following a preliminary autopsy report, it was determined that the singer had died as a result of the injuries he sustained from his fall. However, it also revealed that he had multiple drugs in his system, including pink cocaine.
In the following days, local police launched an investigation into the singer’s death and have recently charged three people including a staff member, an alleged drug dealer and a close friend.
Braian Nahuel Paiz, 24, is an Argentinan waiter who’s been identified by authorities in the ongoing investigation, and claimed he had met the singer twice before he passed away. However, Paiz has his involvement in Payne’s untimely’s death.
Speaking to local news outlet Telefe Noticias, Paiz admitted to taking drugs with the singer, but denied supplying him any or accepting any money for the narcotics.
“I have messages where he’s offering me money because he was apparently used to offering money for everything but I never accepted anything,” he told the publication.
During his time in Argentina, Payne stayed in two hotels. When the singer first arrived, with girlfriend Kate Cassidy, the pair stayed at the Park Hyatt Palermo Hotel. But when Cassidy flew back to the US two weeks later, Payne checked into CasaSur by himself.
“I never supplied Liam with drugs. Liam’s first contact with me was at my place of work,” Paiz claimed.
“We swapped details and saw each other later that night. It was all normal. He came down from his hotel room [at the Park Hyatt Palermo] to fetch me because I had got lost.”
The waiter went on to claim that when he and Payne “got together”, the pair took whiskey shots and that the singer shared some music he was about to release.
“I’ve heard people saying he was taking drugs but the truth is that when he got to the restaurant where I was working he was already under the effects of drugs and he didn’t actually eat anything,” Paiz claimed.
“There was a moment when he approached me and asked me for my contact details. I gave him an Instagram and afterwards he sent me messages because he wanted to take drugs although he had already consumed narcotics.”
The second time Paiz and Payne reportedly met was on October 13, where he claimed they “spent the night together” and “consumed drugs” because “something intimate happened”.
“He wasn’t aggressive at all, he behaved really well with me, he was really sweet. He asked me if I was okay,” he recalled before claiming that the singer wanted to give him clothes so he could have “a memory of being with him”.
“After I went he appeared outside the place where I lived and managed to get halfway into the building and wanted us to go back to his hotel but I told him I couldn’t because I had to go to work,” Paiz added.
“I was due to start at 11.30am, but I had to arrive beforehand. That was the last time I saw him. He got into his taxi and left.”
According to The New York Post, Paiz had been fired from his job following the ongoing criminal probe. Alongside Paiz, local police have also identified Rogelio ‘Roger’ Nores — one of Payne’s close friends — as one of the people who are under investigation.
Last week, Payne’s body was flown back to London so his family can lay him to rest.
A source close to the family told The Mirror that Payne’s funeral would “low key and respectful” with “song tributes from some very big acts”.
The investigation into Payne’s death is currently ongoing.
