Liam Payne’s heartbroken mother has told friends: ‘I’ve lost my beautiful boy.’
These were the only words Karen Payne could bring herself to say to loved ones who have been rallying around her in the wake of her son’s tragic and untimely death.
Payne fell to his death from the third-floor balcony of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.
Longstanding friends and celebrity hair stylists Royston Blythe and Nick Malenko were among the first to reach out to his heartbroken family.
Mr Malenko said: ‘I messaged his mum Karen. She’s finding it hard to speak about what’s happened, but she said ”I’ve lost my beautiful boy”.’
Liam Payne with his father Geoff and mother Karen after the X Factor final in London in 2010
As well as 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 as he penned in the caption: ‘#Like if you love my son!’ – a post which has since been flooded with tributes
Paying tribute to the singer, who was once a regular at his Royston Blythe hair salon in Compton, Wolverhampton, he continued: ‘He was a beautiful boy inside and out.
‘It’s absolutely shocking and devastating that such a young and talent life has gone. We are never going to see him again. There are so many tears here, how can we put how we feel into words?
‘We have sold the business now, but he’d been coming to the salon to get his hair done since he was a young lad. His mum still gets her hair done there.
‘When he was competing in X Factor we put up posters in the windows to get people to vote for him. Of course, after that he became a global phenomenon. We always saw him as a hero at the salon.
‘Even at 14 he was very eloquent. I knew he was going to be famous. That’s why I gave him his first proper set of hair straighteners. He had a lot of motivation and loved what he was doing. He was passionate about it.
‘We used to go with Karen to his concerts a the NEC and he would point us out in the audience and say I was his hairdresser which was a nice thing for him to do. Like me he came from humble beginnings. His story will be a massive inspiration to young people from here.
‘He supported The Way youth hub and he used to go to a local boxing club to train because he was bullied.’
Ms Blythe added: ‘We were doing Liam’s hair from when he was 14-years-old and at school. I used to organise charity shows and he used to appear for free.
‘His dad used to accompany him and set up his PA equipment and he would sing.
‘We took him to meet Dawn Ward from Real Housewives of Cheshire at Warford Hall when she did the charity Creme de la Creme Ball and he was asking her lots of questions. He be sorely missed by everybody.’
Payne’s family put out a brief statement yesterday, saying: ‘We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul.
‘We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space at this awful time.’
A purported final photograph of Payne at the the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires seems to show the former One Direction singer wearing a white sleeveless top with his tattoos visible
One of the singer’s final selfies in Buenos Aires was captioned: ‘Lovely day in Argentina’
Payne was spotted walking through a restaurant in Buenos Aires with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy in the days before his death, with a fan account posting the above clip on TikTok
Payne’s uncle Roger Harris also told MailOnline yesterday afternoon: ‘We are all just deeply saddened and trying to come to terms with it. I just hope everybody gives them some privacy really and allows them to come to terms with it. That’s all I can say.’
The singer – who had been posing with fans in Buenos Aires in the hours before his death – suffered a fractured skull after falling from the third floor of Casa Sur Palmero Hotel in Argentina’s capital shortly after 5pm local time (9pm UK time) on Wednesday.
Another relative speaking at Payne’s family home in Wolverhampton – the city where he was born and grew up – told MailOnline: ‘We are utterly devastated by the news.’
Payne was raised in Wolverhampton by his mother Karen, a nurse, and father Geoff, a fitter. Early this morning, his older sisters, Nicola and Ruth, arrived at the house.
Nine weeks ago Geoff posted a sweet image of his son and his dog as he penned in the caption: ‘#Like if you love my son!’ – a post which has since been flooded with messages of condolence for their family.
Payne grew up on a road in Bushbury, Wolverhampton, before his big break with the X Factor.
While the family no longer live on the street, residents told yesterday how they still remembered the Paynes and spoke of their sadness.
One resident said: ‘My wife actually knew the family reasonably well when they lived here and she would always see them out and about when they lived here.
‘I can’t begin to imagine how his family are feeling at the moment as it must be so awful to get the news that your son has died.
‘People around here do remember the family and I think there’s just a feeling of shock at the moment.’
Liam Payne plunged from the third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel (file image)
The singer fell from a suite at the Casa Sur Hotel with a balcony overlooking a swimming pool and an outdoor restaurant, and is thought to have landed in the spot circled above
The 31-year-old star plunged from the third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel
A fan in Argentina showed how she had taken a selfie with Liam Payne on October 1
Another resident said he could remember seeing Payne and his sister playing in the street near the house.
He said: ‘It’s just awful to hear about Liam and to hear about a family losing a son.’
‘I remember seeing him playing outside the house and while I know they don’t live here anymore, I remember them being a nice family.’
One woman on the street said she remembered the family being very happy and said she did think that Payne had star quality.
She said: ‘I knew the family a bit when they lived here and they always seemed to be a very happy lot and I think we could all see the fire in him to be a star.
‘I’m just really sad to hear about Liam’s passing and it’s been just awful to hear about.’
Leah Wilshaw, 31, who lived in Bushbury at the same time as Payne, said: ‘When you think of Wolverhampton and artists, you think of the likes of Liam Payne – it’s quite sad.
‘He’s got a lot of friends and family here. A lot of people love the fact he’s from here. I thought it was fake news when I first saw it. It was completely unexpected.
‘I think anyone’s death is very sad, especially at the young age of 31 and he has a child that’s seven – he’s got to grow up without his dad. He’s too young to have gone. I just hope his family has some peace to grieve.’
It comes as a photograph of Payne seemingly returning to his hotel room in Buenos Aires emerged, and is reportedly the final image of the singer before he fell to his death.
The photo broadcast on local network America TV appears to show Payne wearing a white sleeveless top with his tattoos visible. A presenter said it was the last time the former One Direction singer was seen alive before he got in a lift to his room.
Alberto Crescenti, head of the city’s emergency services, revealed Payne had a ‘cranial fracture and extremely serious injuries that led to his immediate death’.
He also told TN television that Payne was dead when paramedics arrived at 5pm local time (9pm UK time), adding: ‘Our role was to head there quickly, give medical attention, and try to resuscitate him, but his injuries were incompatible with life.’
Payne’s identity was confirmed by emergency services by checking his passport, but police do not yet have conclusive evidence regarding the circumstances of his fall.
He also told TN television that Payne was dead when paramedics arrived at 5pm local time (9pm UK time), adding: ‘Our role was to head there quickly, give medical attention, and try to resuscitate him, but his injuries were incompatible with life.’
The singer fell from a third-floor suite with a balcony overlooking an interior pool and the hotel’s on-site Michelin-star restaurant where he landed in the courtyard.
Police in forensic suits were minutely examining the room and its balcony late last night after their colleagues below erected a red tent on the spot where Payne died.
The patio where he died is next to the swimming pool and is also the site for outdoor tables at the hotel’s plant-based Sarco restaurant. No diners were there at the time, because Sacro closes after lunch at 4pm before reopening for dinner at 7.30pm.
