The head injury Caroline Flack was taken to court for inflicting on Lewis Burton, despite his decision not to press charges, has been revealed in the new Disney+ docu-series about her
A new Disney+ documentary, Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth, has reignited discussion around the tragic events leading up to the Love Island presenter’s death — including the head injury sustained by her boyfriend, Lewis Burton, which he later insisted he never wanted to take her to court over.
An image of Lewis’s injury is shown in the documentary. The tennis player can be seen parting his hair to show police a barely visible red mark on the top of his head, which is revealed in stark contrast to his claim that Caroline had “smashed him over the head with a lamp”.
The incident occurred in December 2019, after Lewis dialled 999 from Caroline’s London flat, telling operators she was “trying to kill him”.
Police arrived to find both covered in blood, though the majority of it turned out to be Caroline’s. She had self-harmed during the argument and spent 12 hours in the hospital receiving treatment for her own injuries.
Initially, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) advised that Caroline should be cautioned for the incident. However, the Metropolitan Police appealed this decision, arguing that a prosecution was in the public interest.
Caroline was subsequently charged with assault by beating — despite Lewis’s repeated pleas for the case to be dropped. In a now widely shared Instagram post, Lewis wrote: “Gutted I can’t spend Christmas with you. I want to repeat [that] I never pressed charges… I want this all to be over.”
During the inquest into Caroline’s death, it was revealed that Lewis had told officers he was asleep when Caroline struck him. He initially claimed she had used a lamp, then later said it could have been a fan or a mobile phone.
Caroline admitted to hitting him, saying she had done so with her phone in hand but never intended to hurt him. The injury was described in the police report as “minor” and did not require medical treatment.
Yet the case still went ahead as a “victimless prosecution”, which is a process authorities use when they believe dropping charges could put a victim at risk — even when that person no longer supports the case.
Caroline’s mother, Christine Flack, still maintains that her daughter was unfairly targeted because of her celebrity status. She spoke about the Metropolitan Police’s decision to prosecute in the Disney+ series, saying: “If it was an ordinary person, you wouldn’t have been bothered.”
Series producer Sophie Clayton-Payne confirmed that Lewis declined to take part in the documentary, despite being approached about it early on in the planning process.
“Everyone grieves differently,” she said. “Lewis has never spoken about this publicly, and we have a duty of care towards everyone involved.”
Christine added: “[Lewis has] gone on to have his life now…so I don’t think anyone had to be dragged back into this film. That’s not what it was about.”
Caroline Flack took her own life in February 2020, weeks before she was due to stand trial. The CPS later apologised for mistakes in its handling of the case, though it continues to insist that she was not treated differently from any other defendant.
*If you are struggling with mental health, you can speak to a trained advisor from Mind mental health charity on 0300 123 3393 or email info@mind.org.uk
Source: Mirror
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