Caroline Flack took her own life amid fears of prosecution, inquest rules

Caroline Flack took her own life after learning she would be prosecuted for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend, following a long struggle with “fluctuating mental health” that was exacerbated by the stress of fame, a coroner has found.

After a two-day hearing, during which the Metropolitan police came under pressure to explain the decision to charge the TV presenter with assault, after the Crown Prosecution Service initially wanted to issue her with a caution, coroner Mary Hassell said: “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.”

Speaking at Poplar coroner court in London, Hassell said: “Caroline had fluctuating mental ill health, she had had struggles in the past. In spite of the fact she may have led – to some – a charmed life, actually the more famous she got, the more some of these difficulties increased – she had to deal with the media in a way most of us don’t.”

Flack’s mother, Chris, told Hassell: “I think you got it spot on. We know you are not allowed to say certain things and it’s up to us if we want to take it any further, and we don’t. You’re spot on.”

After the inquest, Flack’s mother and her sister, Jody, issued a statement thanking the coroner for the intelligence and compassion she brought to these proceedings.
“She treated Caroline with dignity and respect and allowed us to ask questions and finally get answers to things that have been giving us sleepless nights ever since Caroline felt she had no choice but to take her life rather than face the humiliation of a show trial.”

Chris Flack said she “fully appreciates” that domestic violence needs to always be taken seriously, but said the alleged assault involving Flack and her boyfriend, Lewis Burton, was far from that. She added: “I don’t believe Caroline was treated as anyone else would have been.”

During the inquest, Mrs Flack accused the police and prosecutors of “having it in for” her daughter and treating her unfairly because she was a celebrity, telling one senior police officer: “If it had been … an ordinary person, you wouldn’t have prosecuted”.

Giving evidence at the inquest DI Lauren Bateman denied treating Flack differently because she was famous, saying: “I was not biased and I treat everyone the same” and that “In my opinion, at that point, the case wasn’t suitable for a caution.”

In December 2019, Burton dialled 999 claiming Flack had been “trying to kill him” while he was asleep and that he had a cracked head after being hit with a lamp.

When police arrived at Flack’s flat in north London Flack had self-harmed. She was taken to hospital for a psychiatric assessment and deemed fit for interview, the inquest heard.

Flack, who hosted the ITV show Love Island at the time, admitted making a “flicking gesture” with her phone, which made contact with Burton’s head, after reading texts which called into question his fidelity, and said she was surprised to see an injury and blood. It remains unclear whether it was a lamp, a desk fan or a phone that caused Burton’s injury, the inquest was told.

But Bateman said Flack did not show remorse for her actions and “there was no clear admission of guilt. It was unclear what she was admitting to and what she was saying happened.” This, Bateman said, was why a prosecution was recommended.

The CPS’s original intention was to caution Flack rather than charge her. That was overturned after an appeal from the Metropolitan police..

Hassell suggested Bateman was “splitting hairs” in what she considered to be Flack’s admission of guilt. Bateman replied: “In my view, it wasn’t a clear admission of what had happened.”

A report by CPS prosecutor Alison Wright said police challenged her decision not to charge Flack, saying she was influenced by the suspect’s celebrity status. Wright’s report of the case added: “I have been informed that the police are not willing to administer a caution. The police claim I have taken a biased view of the case because Caroline Flack is a celebrity. She should be and is in my opinion being treated exactly the same as any other suspect.”

The inquest also heard that another CPS prosecutor, Kate Weiss, reviewed the decision to charge Flack a week after the assault. She cited various factors – such as the violence involved, that Burton was sleeping at the time of the assault, that a caution is rare for a domestic violence case, and that police said Flack showed no remorse in interview – when making her decision that a caution was not suitable.

Flack died on 15 February, a day after she learned that the CPS was continuing with the prosecution.

Hassell asked Bateman: “If presented with the same situation tomorrow – not taking into account what happened afterwards – would you do differently?” To which, Bateman replied: “No, absolutely not.”

Flack’s mother was seen on video link shaking her head as a senior police officer said she would not do anything differently. Flack’s mother said: “I feel even more upset now than I did at the start.”

Hassell said celebrities should not be treated better because of their status, but “they shouldn’t get any worse treatment than anyone else. The family feel very strongly that Caroline had different treatment than she would have had she not been a celebrity, and here you talk about remorse and you have accepted that remorse shouldn’t have been taken into account, but you did take into account.”

A CPS spokesperson said: “We know this has been an extremely difficult period for the family and friends of Caroline Flack and our thoughts remain with them at this time. We are grateful for the opportunity given by the coroner to provide detailed background into our handling of the case. It is our sincere hope this has assisted the coroner and Ms Flack’s family in understanding our decision-making.”

Ch Supt Raj Kohli of the Met said: “We were asked and wanted to assist the coroner in understanding our handling of this case and have made every effort to do so, providing fully detailed background. This has included evidence provided by the detective inspector involved, who attended as a witness. We hope that the chance to observe the proceedings has assisted Ms Flack’s family in helping to understand our decision-making process.

“We know this will have been an extremely difficult period for the bereaved family and friends of Ms Flack and our thoughts remain with them. We are also aware that this sad loss will have had a big impact on all of those who admired and followed Ms Flack over the years.”

After the coroner’s verdict, Flack’s mother described her daughter as “beautiful, fun, opinionated, kind, loyal, full of confidence, and full of fears”. But she added: “Because she was successful and because she was so open about her life and her loves, she became an easy target for cruel and spiteful people who, if they knew the pain they caused, would be ashamed.

“Caroline you were loved. I love you. Those that would have harmed you can’t touch you now.”

• In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.