Television presenter Caroline Flack hanged herself at home after discovering she was definitely going to be prosecuted for assaulting her boyfriend and feared press intrusion, a coroner has ruled.
Coroner Mary Hassell said the fact the alleged assault case was “played out in the national press” was “incredibly difficult for her”, and she feared the loss of her hard-fought career.
The 40-year-old former Love Island and X Factor host was found hanged at her home in Stoke Newington, north-east London, on February 15 2020.
The previous day, she had discovered prosecutors were going to press ahead with the assault charge after she hit Lewis Burton with her phone while he slept over concerns he had been cheating on her. Friends said she was expecting it to be dropped after her lawyers applied for the case to be thrown out.
Returning a determination of suicide at Poplar Coroner’s Court on Thursday, the coroner said: “Although her general fluctuating (mental) state was a background and important in her death, I find the reason for her taking her life was she now knew she was being prosecuted for certainty, and she knew she would face the media, press, publicity – it would all come down upon her.
“To me that’s it in essence.”
Weeping, Flack’s mother Chris Flack told the coroner via videolink: “I totally agree, I think you got it spot on.”
Mrs Flack had accused the police and prosecutors of having it “in for” her daughter, accusing them of taking her to court due to her “celebrity status”.
Mrs Flack said her famous daughter killed herself as a consequence of Detective Inspector Lauren Bateman’s personal decision to appeal against the plan to give Flack a caution for assault.
Mrs Flack accused prosecutors of wanting to proceed with the case, despite concerns about the 40-year-old’s mental health.
Mrs Flack told deputy chief Crown prosecutor Lisa Ramsarran on Thursday: “After listening to you and the first lady (Ms Bateman), I feel even more that you had it in for Caroline.
“I now know how Caroline felt and it is not very nice.”
Ms Ramsarran said the code for prosecutors was correctly applied, while both the police and the Crown Prosecution Service said they would not do anything differently.
Flack admitted hitting Mr Burton when officers were called to her home in London in December 2019, saying she did so because she found out he was cheating on her, the inquest heard.
Prosecutors decided to charge Flack with assault after Ms Bateman, the Metropolitan Police inspector on duty at the time, contested their initial decision.
The inquest heard prosecutor Kate Weiss reviewed the decision to charge Flack a week after the assault.
She cited various factors, such as the violence involved, that Mr Burton was sleeping, that a caution is rare for a domestic violence case, and that police said Flack showed no remorse in interview, when coming to the conclusion that a caution was not appropriate.
Ms Weiss wrote: “In light of these factors, I believe a caution is not appropriate.”
Coroner Ms Hassell said she understood if Flack’s family saw the review document and thought it “gives a flavour of wanting to find reasons to continue the prosecution rather than looking at this afresh”.
The coroner said: “It would be easy to gain an impression from this that for whatever reason Caroline isn’t liked – ‘She’s a celebrity and she must be dealt with severely’.
“I can understand why that impression could be gained by this document.”
Ms Ramsarran replied: “I don’t share your view that we are treating this defendant any different from anyone else.”
The inquest heard Flack’s mental health deteriorated and she killed herself in February 2020, weeks before she was due to stand trial.
In an impassioned examination of Ms Bateman’s evidence, Mrs Flack told Ms Bateman: “If it had been… an ordinary person, you wouldn’t have prosecuted.
“This girl killed herself because you put an appeal through.”
Ms Bateman denied the coroner’s suggestion that she was motivated by Flack’s celebrity status to charge her.
Ms Bateman said: “I was not biased and I treat everyone the same.”
The inquest heard Flack was found naked and covered in blood with a self-imposed cut to her wrist when police arrived on the scene of the alleged assault in December, and told officers: “I hit him (Mr Burton), he was cheating on me.”
On Wednesday, friends described how Flack had serious concerns about her trial in March, but had met with her lawyers on February 14 when she thought the case might be dropped.
However, it was then that her legal team outlined the CPS’s decision, made the previous day, to go ahead with court action.
Flack was found hanged at her home the following day.
Prosecutor Ms Ramsarran said the CPS looked at Flack’s mental health when the case was first reviewed, including evidence that the television personality self-harmed at the crime scene when she allegedly assaulted Mr Burton.
However, it was decided it was in the public interest to authorise a charge of assault by beating, particularly considering the domestic violence allegation.
Flack’s death prompted an outpouring of sorrow from celebrity friends, colleagues and fans, who referenced one of the former Strictly winner’s social media posts from December in which she urged people to “be kind”.
Her death was the latest connected to Love Island, following the deaths of contestants Mike Thalassitis, 26, in March 2019 and Sophie Gradon, 32, in June 2018.
Ms Gradon’s boyfriend Aaron Armstrong, 25, died three weeks after he found his girlfriend had died.
To contact the Samaritans, call 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit https://www.samaritans.org/
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