An Argentinian waiter connected to the investigation into Liam Payne’s death denies being his drug dealer.
In a new interview with TMZ, Braian Paiz, a 24-year-old Argentinian waiter, admitted to using cocaine and drinking whiskey with Payne two days before the 31-year-old singer’s fatal fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires in October.
Paiz’s recounting of the events leading up to Payne’s death are taken from the upcoming documentary TMZ Investigates: Liam Payne: Who’s to Blame?
“They say I’m the dealer, that I carried drugs, that I sold them,” Paiz told TMZ, per the New York Post. “And the truth is that no, no I didn’t sell them.”
Paiz said that he and Payne bonded over their shared interest in drawing after meeting at the restaurant where he worked. Paiz recalled seeing drugs scattered throughout the One Direction singer’s hotel room. He claimed he did not accept any money or gifts from Payne, including a Rolex he was offered.
“I didn’t accept anything, just a drawing that he drew which was part of my eyes, nose and mouth,” said Paiz in the documentary. “He draws. I draw. I’m studying to do it so I had drawings.”
Argentinian authorities are investigating three suspects in connection with Payne’s death, including Paiz, a hotel employee accused of selling drugs to the singer, and a separate drug supplier. The charges involve “abandonment of a person followed by death” and “supply and facilitation of narcotics.”
According to witnesses and a police report, Payne reportedly had an issue with feeling locked in hotel rooms that stemmed from his days of touring with One Direction and had previously used balconies to make an escape.
Surveillance footage from the CasaSur Palermo Hotel showed Payne being carried to his room by three employees just minutes before he fell from the balcony and died. Authorities believe he was attempting to climb down to the second-floor balcony below his room after a leather bag with his name was discovered there days after his death.
A partial autopsy performed in October showed Payne had “pink cocaine,” cocaine, crack, and benzodiazepines in his system at the time of his death.
