Whoa. A suspect in the death of Liam Payne is speaking out!
On Saturday, Braian Nahuel Paiz sat down for an interview with Argentina’s Telefe Noticias, in which he denied supplying the One Direction star with drugs.
As Perezcious readers know, Liam died on October 16 after falling from his hotel balcony. He was on numerous drugs at the time, and last week, authorities charged three people for abandonment of a person followed by death and the supply and facilitation of narcotics. This included an unidentified friend, hotel worker, and alleged “drug supplier.” Braian appears to be outing himself as the later suspect but insisted he didn’t do what he has been accused of.
Related: Liam Payne’s Death Hit Kelly Osbourne ‘Hard’
Braian is a 24-year-old waiter, and he claimed he met the Strip That Down crooner when he dined at the restaurant he works at in Puerto Madero weeks before his death, where Liam was with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy and two others. He said via translation:
“Liam’s first contact with me was at my place of work. We swapped details and saw each other later that night. It was all normal. He came down from his hotel room to fetch me because I had gotten lost. We got together there and he showed me some of the music he was going to bring out.”
Hitting back at drug-supplying allegations, the waiter argued the 31-year-old was already on drugs when they met, claiming:
“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 they first met at the “Hyatt in Palermo” on October 2. During the dinner, Liam asked for his contact details and he gave him an Instagram account to communicate with him. The waiter later received “messages because [Liam] wanted to take drugs although he had already consumed narcotics.” While in Liam’s room, the singer also “had some whisky shots.”
The next time they met up was on October 13 at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel, where Liam ultimately died and just one day after his girlfriend left the country. On what they got up to, the suspect continued:
“We took drugs together, but I never took drugs to him or accepted any money.”
He also claimed to have text messages proving that he never accepted any offers for money, noting Liam offered because he was “used to offering money for everything.” Opening up about this second get-together in more detail, he said:
“Our second hotel meeting was on the night of Sunday October 13. We spent the night together, we consumed drugs because the truth is that 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 went on:
“When I left he wanted to give me some clothes so that I had a memory of being with him but I left it behind the TV because I didn’t want to take it. It was some grey jogging bottoms and a T-shirt.”
The suspect continued:
“I told Liam a best friend of mine wanted to meet him because he was a fan. He said ‘yes’ and 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. […] I was due to start at 11:30 a.m. but I had to arrive beforehand. That was the last time I saw him. He got into his taxi and left.”
He claimed not to know who the other suspects are. Recalling seeing photos of Liam’s trashed room after his death, the waiter added:
“When I saw the photos of the inside of Liam’s hotel room nothing made any sense to me. The Dove soap packet was there when I was in the hotel but I couldn’t understand what it was for or the candles or the glass of water.”
Braian acknowledged his home had been searched but that he had not yet been questioned by investigators. He also shared a selfie taken with the late star during their first meeting and said he’d been let go of his job in light of the investigation.
Last week, Liam’s friend Rogelio “Roger” Nores, who is suspected of being the unidentified friend in the case, also denied any involvement in his death. Those of you who speak Spanish can listen to the full interview (below):
Thoughts? Share them (below).
If you or someone you know is experiencing substance abuse, help is available. Consider checking out the resources SAMHSA provides at https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline or check out StartYourRecovery.org
[Image via Patricia Schlein/WENN & Telefe Noticias/YouTube]
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