Caroline Flack tragically died in 2020 after she was charged by police for assaulting her boyfriend
Caroline Flack’s heartbroken mother insists police error was to blame for her daughter’s death as she speaks about the tragedy in a new documentary. The Love Island host took her own life aged 40 in February 2020 ahead of a trial after she was charged with assaulting her boyfriend Lewis Burton.
A note Caroline left in her flat read: “Please let this court case be dropped, and myself and Lewis find harmony.” A new investigation led by Christine Flack highlights what she says are key mistakes and decisions which “made no sense” by the Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan Police.
This, she claims, along with negative media and social media coverage, left her daughter feeling there was “no way out”. Christine says: “They will not admit that they were wrong to push for Caroline to be prosecuted. Because of a police error, my daughter’s died.”
Speaking to the Mirror, Christine said she could not understand why a detective inspector overruled the CPS which initially suggested cautioning Caroline on the night of the incident at her London home in December 2019.
She said: “It would have changed everything. Because they pursued the prosecution, she had to stand down from her jobs. She had to leave her house. It just changed her world.”
Christine speaks to senior legal figures in the Disney+ documentary series who agree that the TV star should have only received a caution. Former CPS chief crown prosecutor Nazir Afzal studied police documents gathered by Christine.
He tells her: “Having looked at all your evidence I can’t understand why they rushed the judgement. This was a case where there is no previous history, no coercive behaviour. Mr Burton never wanted this case and was adamant.
“This was a one off occasion where she lost her temper and did what she did, which she accepts. For all of those reasons, the very worst thing that should have happened was a caution.”
He added: “I have prosecuted thousands of these cases, none of this makes sense. Almost immediately in the cold light of day, prosecutors would have formed a view this case is going nowhere and they should have stopped the case. They are required to stop the case where there is insufficient evidence. I can’t think of any reason to proceed, unless they were scared of what the media were going to say about them. It is not about losing face, this is about justice. My take on it is Caroline would still be with us if certain decisions weren’t taken in that month or two.”
Jess McDonald, an ex-Met detective constable who had worked in a safeguarding unit dealing with domestic violence, tells Christine: “So much shouts out to me as mishandling.”
She highlights an email challenging the decision to only caution Caroline, in which the detective inspector insists there is no clear admission of guilt. Jess adds: “Caroline never denied that she hit Lewis with the phone.”
In a statement, she admitted guilt 12 times. Her lawyer Paul Morris said: “This case was prosecuted because it would’ve been more difficult to stop the snowball rolling than let it continue. Saving face, I think adequately describes the stance taken.”
In late December after she was charged, Caroline was not coping well and her agent and legal team got her to see a psychiatrist. Agent Louisa Booth said: “We sent a psychiatric report to the CPS saying she is not fit mentally to go through this. We had professional analysis. It was ignored.”
Christine told the Mirror: “They were going to pursue the case whatever. That’s what Caroline knew in the end. There was no way out.” It is claimed Caroline may have died the night before she was due in court. The documentary reveals that she took pills and drank a minibar dry.
Prosecution lawyer Katie Weiss told the court Lewis had been hit with a lamp and police said the scene was like “a horror movie”.
Christine says Caroline maintained she hit Lewis with a phone, which he confirmed later. On January 1, a story appeared with photos from the scene showing a bed, covered in blood. Christine says the blood was Caroline’s.
At the time she texted best friend Mollie Grosberg to say: “I won’t get a fair trial. I don’t think I can cope with the shame.” When she heard the case would go ahead on February 13 she texted: “My life is over. My head is throbbing.”
She went into a meltdown, trashing her flat. Friends rushed there and rang an ambulance, but she calmed down. She told them to go home the next morning as her sister was visiting. But Jody arrived to a locked door and later learned Caroline had died.
The Met apologised for not keeping a record about why it charged her with assault. An Independent Office for Police Conduct review found no misconduct.
The Met said: “We have engaged with a number of independent reviews and an inquest. While there was organisational learning for us on points of process, no misconduct has been identified.”
The CPS said: “All decisions were made on the basis of the medical opinion available. A person’s celebrity status never influences whether a case is taken forward. We are satisfied the prosecution was correctly brought.”
Caroline Flack: Search For The Truth premieres on Disney+ today. Call Samaritans on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org. Call Refuge free on 0808 2000 247.
