Flack, 40, was found dead in her London home in February while awaiting trial over an alleged assault on her 27-year-old boyfriend, Lewis Burton. Photo / Getty Images
Flack, 40, was found dead in her London home in February while awaiting trial over an alleged assault on her 27-year-old boyfriend, Lewis Burton. Photo / Getty Images
Caroline Flack was "right" to be prosecuted, after it was claimed she was facing a "show trial" before her death, says Chief Prosecutor of London North in defence of his decision.
The Love Island television presenter was found dead in her home earlier this year, after finding out the CrownProsecution Service was going to pursue a trial, which saw her charged with assault by beating following an alleged fight at her home in December with Lewis Burton, which she plead not guilty to.
And now Ed Beltrami, Chief Prosecutor of London North, has defended his decision to continue to prosecute Caroline.
He said: "You've got to do what you think is right. You cannot do what you think is popular ... You don't just fold at the first sign of trouble. The fact the victim doesn't want to know ... you've got to look at whether you can prosecute without the support of the victim. Domestic abuse is a separate category by itself - [with a] high risk of the offending escalating. The guy phoned the police, he was terrified he was going to be killed. He's been hit over the head with a lamp, he's got a cut to his head, and she's made an admission to the police at the scene. On the principles of domestic abuse you say, 'I'm going to proceed without the victim because I've got the admission, I've got the complaint from the victim which I'll try to get in, I've got the evidence of the cut to the head and the mess in the flat which has been filmed by the police.'"
And Beltrami insists he had no idea Caroline would decide to tragically take her own life. He added to Wales on Sunday: "But obviously when you make that decision to proceed with the case you have absolutely no idea the defendant is going to take her own life. You can't possibly anticipate that sort of thing."
Last year Flack stepped down from her Love Island hosting position after she was arrested and charged with assaulting her boyfriend Lewis Burton.
She had pleaded not guilty to assault by beating at a North London court.
Flack, 40, was found dead in her London home in February while awaiting trial over an alleged assault on her 27-year-old boyfriend, Lewis Burton. Photo / Getty Images
Following her death, her family released an unpublished Instagram post from the star, which she was advised not to publish.
She wrote: "On December the 12th 2019 I was arrested for common assault on my boyfriend," she wrote.
"Within 24 hours my whole world and future was swept from under my feet and all the walls that I had taken so long to build around me, collapsed.
"I am suddenly on a different kind of stage and everyone is watching it happen.
"I have always taken responsibility for what happened that night. Even on the night. But the truth is … it was an accident.
"I've been having some sort of emotional breakdown for a very long time. But I am not a domestic abuser. We had an argument and an accident happened. An accident."
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