Liam Payne‘s erratic behavior “began to escalate” when Kate Cassidy abandoned his vacation before his death on Wednesday, October 16according to a source close to the deceased singer’s girlfriend.
“As you could see in the Snapchat videos, he was a different person when he was with her.”the source told PEOPLE about the One Direction alum, who died at age 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The source also revealed that Cassidy, 25, was by Payne’s side during his recent “legal drama” with ex-fiancee Maya Henry.
“She had been very supportive of him throughout the whole legal drama,” the source told PEOPLE.
In a TikTok shared on October 6, Henry, 23, author of the novel Looking Forwardclaimed that his ex, whom he does not name in the book but associates with “One Direction fans,” kept “blowing up” his phone.
Last week, he also issued a cease-and-desist order to Payne after she claimed he contacted her repeatedly, according to the Daily Mail.
Payne was first seen with Cassidy in October 2022. While the couple kept their relationship largely quiet at the time, Cassidy shared snippets of her and Payne’s romance through red carpet photos and ‘selfies’ casual.
Sources told ABC News what Payne had several drugs in his system, including “pink cocaine,” at the time of his death. A partial autopsy revealed that he “had multiple substances in his system” when he fell to his death.
According to the National Poison Center in the Capital, “pink cocaine” is a recreational drug that generally includes a combination of methamphetamine, ketamine, MDMA (and not necessarily cocaine). Sources also told ABC News that “a makeshift aluminum pipe” used to ingest drugs was found in Payne’s hotel room.
According to the report, the British musician’s body will remain in Argentina until the autopsy is completed.
Buenos Aires police found Liam Payne’s hotel room “in total disarray” after the singer’s death. Minutes before the fall from the balcony, hotel staff alerted emergency services and reported in a 911 call that the singer had been “trashing up the room,” authorities said.
On October 17, law enforcement investigated his room and found the prescription drug clonazepam (trade name: Klonopin), energy supplements and other over-the-counter medications strewn throughout the space, along with “several broken objects,” including a television. . A bottle of whiskey, a lighter and a cell phone were later recovered from the hotel’s inner courtyard, where Payne’s body was discovered after the fall.
According to a preliminary autopsy report, the “Teardrops” singer died from multiple injuries and “internal and external” bleeding.confirmed to PEOPLE the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office.
Forensics confirmed PEOPLE that 25 injuries in the autopsy were “compatible with those caused by a fall from a height,” explaining that “the head injuries were sufficient to cause death,” while the “internal and external hemorrhages” of the skull, thorax, abdomen and limbs contributed to Payne’s death.
