Caroline Flack’s devastated mum says ‘when I said goodbye, I never thought it’d be for the last time’
CAROLINE Flack’s mum told how they spent a weekend together before the star took her life, adding: “When I said goodbye I never thought it’d be for the last time.”
Christine Flack told an inquest she tried desperately to reassure Love Island’s Caroline over the upcoming assault trial that was causing her such mental anguish.
She added: “I kissed her and she said, ‘Bye mum’. She asked if all the family would go with her to court and we said, ‘Of course.’
“I was then called on Saturday lunchtime to say Carrie had died. I believe she was heartbroken.
“I know nothing will bring her back, but I do want people to know what a lovely, kind, generous person she was.
“She never spoke badly of anyone and was totally loyal.”
Christine said Caroline’s death was caused by the Crown Prosecution Service’s insistence on holding a celebrity “show trial” over a fight she had with boyfriend Lewis Burton.
Police had been called to Caroline’s flat in December after the fight and arrested her.
The CPS decided to make her stand trial for assault despite the fact Lewis did not want charges brought — and knowing Caroline was suffering mental distress.
Caroline, 40, who had a history of depression, was clearly distraught at a magistrates hearing on December 23 at which she denied assault. Her crown court trial was fixed for March.
On February 15 she was found dead in her North London flat.
Her inquest yesterday heard that Caroline was distraught in the weeks after her arrest and tormented by the thought of a trial.
‘TOTALLY DEVASTATED’
Christine, in a statement read to the inquest, said: “My family and I are totally devastated by the untimely and unnecessary death of my beautiful daughter.
“I believe she was seriously let down by the authorities and particularly by the CPS.
“I believe this was a show trial. I feel the prosecutor was unkind to Caroline and my family.
“I was threatened with arrest when I tried to speak. Being well known should not allow special treatment but should not allow making an example of someone.”
Christine, who could be seen weeping on a video link as her statement was read by coroner Mary Hassell, denied her daughter had been violent.
And she denied claims that Caroline had hit Lewis with a lamp during the row.
She said she had received a letter of apology from the former head of the CPS over its claims.
Her statement said: “I received a written apology from Ed Beltrami about comments he made about my daughter and I find it amazing something like that has not reached the media.
“A lamp was never involved in the assault. It was a phone.
“There was disputed evidence read out in court and picked up by reporters. But it was disputed.
“The result of the media attention of this hearing forced Caroline to leave the home she loved and eventually led her to take her life.
“Through all of this Caroline was told not to speak, to tell her side of the story, she was told the CPS could not possibly take it to trial because she didn’t beat Lewis.
When I said goodbye I never thought it’d be for the last time.
Caroline Flack's mum
“The only person hurt that night was Caroline. An awful picture was sold to the Press. Caroline was told not to speak while all the time her heart was breaking She lost the job she worked so hard at.”
Caroline took her life a day after her final hopes of avoiding a trial were dashed by the CPS.
Her legal team sent mental health reports to the CPS saying she was in bad shape and would deteriorate if the trial went ahead.
A psychiatrist warned about a “major depressive episode”.
But the CPS rejected that plea and brushed aside the fact that tennis coach Lewis, 28, was not supporting the prosecution.
Paramedics had already been called to Caroline’s flat the day before her death over a prescription drugs overdose — one of four previous attempts to take her life.
‘MAJOR DEPRESSIVE EPISODE’
Psychiatrist Tamsin Lewis treated Caroline ahead of her first court appearance. She said: “She was incredibly distressed and needed some sleeping aids.”
Ms Lewis said the presenter told her the fight with Lewis was “nothing more than a lover’s tiff, heightened by alcohol”.
The psychiatrist added: “She reported having panicky feelings all day — a sense of impending doom.”
Caroline’s sister Jody told Poplar Coroner’s Court, East London, the TV presenter had been in a bad way before her death and did not want to leave her home.
She said: “Caroline seemed very sad the day before her death — she seemed to have lost her fight. She was in a very anxious frame of mind from the day she was charged with assault on her boyfriend Lewis. She was anxious about press coverage and the abuse she would receive from the public.”
Jody also criticised the CPS, saying: “The shame of the charge against her, which did not match the reality of what happened, was too much to cope with.
“A mistake which ended in a minor injury to her boyfriend requiring no medical attention and serious injuries to herself, resulted in national condemnation for being a physical abuser of men.
“This was something she could not see ever going away. The CPS continued even though Lewis wasn’t behind it.
“The Press and public found it an entertaining angle and the matter spiralled out of control and became more difficult for Caroline to comprehend.”
HER HOPES OF HARMONY
TELLY star Caroline left a note saying she wanted to “find harmony” with boyfriend Lewis Burton.
The handwritten message was found by paramedics in her flat on top of an open magazine.
It read: “I hope me and Lewis can one day find harmony.”
In a statement, tennis player Lewis, 28, told the inquest of her fragile state.
He said: “The last time I saw Caroline she was very upset, in fact, devastated. She was not in a good place emotionally.
“What was bothering her most was the police case and losing her presenting job on Love Island, the negative media attention plus not being able to see me.”
Jody said her sister, who stepped down from Love Island days after her arrest, felt her life was collapsing around her.
She added: “The life and reputation she worked hard to build was falling apart to the point of no return over a false accusation.
“Her mental state was very fragile at this time and it was widely agreed by those involved that it would not be happening to her if she were not in the public eye. Her punishment did not fit the crime.
“At the least she was being made a spectacle of nationally. At worst her career and reputation, so precious to her, had been taken away.”
Friend Mollie Grosberg said Caroline had been stunned when the CPS dashed her last hopes.
She added: “The day before her death she had a meeting with her lawyers that she was looking forward to because she hoped to hear the case was being dropped.
“But she heard the opposite and it really threw her.”
Mollie raced to Caroline’s home after getting a WhatsApp message saying: “I am killing myself and you don’t know where I am.”
YOU'RE NOT ALONE
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide.
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You’re Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let’s all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You’re Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
- Heads Together, www.headstogether.org.uk
- Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans, www.samaritans.org, 116 123
Mollie said: “She was unconscious on her sofa, there were tablets everywhere.
“Caroline was asked if it was a suicide attempt and she said no, she had a headache. But it obviously wasn’t true.”
Mollie said Caroline refused to go to hospital. Paramedics had been called but they left.
The next morning Caroline was furious her friends had dialled 999.
Mollie said: “When she needed us most she pushed us away.
“She pushed everyone away, she always did that.
“She kept saying, ‘No one will ever understand what I’m going through’. She was so scared to go to prison and of the police and the Press. It was too much.”
Caroline was found dead in her flat by Stephen Teasdale, father of one of her friends.
Efforts to revive her failed. The hearing continues.
Tragic star made four bids on life
CAROLINE had tried to take her own life on four previous occasions, her family revealed.
Her sister Jody told the inquest the presenter had struggled in the past to overcome her insecurities.
She said: “She battled suicidal thoughts in the past and depression and anxiety. An ambulance was called on four occasions after attempted overdoses.
“Heartbreak was always something Caroline felt extremely difficult to deal with emotionally.”
The inquest heard of two previous occasions, including one in her flat on the night before Caroline died.
Close friend Mollie Grosberg said the star had apparently taken herbal sleeping tablets and paracetamol.
She said: “We went in and she’d smashed up the TV and thrown her plant on the floor.
“She was unconscious on her sofa. There were tablets everywhere.”
Her friends were reluctant to call police or an ambulance because Caroline did not trust them.
But Mollie said she eventually called 111 and was told an ambulance was on its way.
She added: “After an hour it hadn’t come so I called 999 and they said they were trying to find us.
“Caroline was coming round by this point and talking gibberish about India.
Caroline was asked if it was a suicide attempt and she said no, she had a headache.
“But it obviously wasn’t true. Caroline was refusing to go to hospital but was still totally incoherent.
“It was eventually agreed she wasn’t going and I got very angry and shouted. I said it was ridiculous — but the paramedics said if she was refusing to go they couldn’t take her.”
Paramedic Tony Rumore told the inquest he had no powers to force the star to go to hospital or detain her under the Mental Health Act.
He said: “We asked Caroline if her intention was to harm or kill herself.
“She said it was merely an attempt to sleep and escape from the stresses she was under.”
The inquest also heard Caroline overdosed in a London hotel room on December 22 — the day before her magistrates court appearance.
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Harley Street psychiatrist Dr Brian Wells said he found the presenter in bed and vomiting into a bin.
He added: “She had become distressed about the court appearance and drunk considerable amounts of alcohol and what’s thought to be a mixture of medications.
“Perhaps ten tablets in total. No one in the room seemed to know where the tablets came from.”
Why the CPS kept going
PROSECUTORS defended the decision to put Caroline Flack on trial — after initially thinking of giving her just a caution.
Lisa Ramsarran, deputy chief crown prosecutor in North London, said boyfriend Lewis Burton suffered head injuries and had claimed Caroline was “trying to kill him”.
She said the presenter struck Lewis with a lamp — which is disputed by the family, while Caroline claimed she had used a phone.
Ms Ramsarran said: “The overall position, in terms of the prosecution case, is that Mr Burton had been struck with an object to the head.”
She said there was enough evidence to charge the TV star and said cases involving domestic violence allegations have to be treated “particularly seriously”.
Prosecutors were not given any information from her lawyers about a deterioration in her mental health after December 20, she added.
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