Caroline Flack was going to be cautioned but police appeal led to assault charge

Caroline Flack was going to be cautioned but police appeal led to assault charge

Celebs

Caroline Flack was going to be cautioned until a police appeal led to her assault charge

The 40-year-old Love Island host took her own life at her north London home after hearing her court appearance for allegedly attacking boyfriend Lewis Burton would still go ahead

The assault case against Caroline Flack was going to be dealt with as a caution until police appealed the prosecutor’s decision, an inquest heard today.

The Love Island host, 40, was charged with assaulting her boyfriend Lewis Burton at her home in north east London on December 11 last year.

Caroline was going to be handed a caution – which would have given her a criminal record but would have kept the case out of court – until the police challenged the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decision, the hearing was told.

Lisa Ramsarran, deputy chief Crown prosecutor, said the CPS decided Ms Flack should only be given a caution as it was “not in the public interest” to proceed.

However, the police appealed that decision and the case was continued.

Ms Ramsarran told the court evidence such as body worn cameras taken from officers at the scene and a 999 call in which Mr Burton claimed Ms Flack was “trying to kill him” would have been used as evidence if it went to court.

She told the inquest: “The prosecutor came to the view that there was sufficient evidence to a charge but because Caroline had made admissions she determined a caution would be appropriate.

“The CPS has to decide if there is a realistic prospect of conviction. The evidential test was met but the public interest test was not me because Caroline made an admission to the charge.”

Initially a charge of ABH was considered by the CPS, the court was told.

Ms Ramsarran said: “In the 999 call he [Mr Burton] said he had a cracked head and Caroline was in effect beating him up and was breaking stuff.

“Also in the recording, Mr Burton said that Caroline was trying to kill him and he asked for police assistance at the address.

“Mr Burton spoke to a number of officers and indicated something had been smashed over his head and he said he had been hit with a lamp.

“He later indicated to an officer in the bedroom of the property it could have been a desk lamp or fan that was used.

“Caroline under interview provided information that she had used her phone to cause the injury.

“Mr Burton had been struck with an object to the head, it wasn’t clear whether it was a lamp or a desk fan or a phone. But he had been struck with enough force to cause a wound that was bleeding profusely.”

However, that decision was challenged by police and it was passed to a legal manager at the CPS who decided that because Ms Flack claimed she used a phone to “tap” Mr Burton, she had not made a “full admission” and the case was continued.

She was then charged with assault by beating on December 13.

Over the two months, a total of six reviews of the case were carried out and a final decision to proceed with the charges was made on February 13.

The next day Ms Flack was given the news during a meeting with her lawyers and the following day on the 15th she was found dead, the court heard.

The court also heard that during her police interview, Ms Flack told police she had been reading her boyfriend’s test messages on his phone and discovered “evidence of infidelity”.

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Her defence team were due to argue she then tried to wake him up by “tapping” him on the head while her own phone was still in her hand.

But Ms Ramsarran added it was “very rare” for a caution to be offered in a case of domestic abuse due to the seriousness of the allegations.

Caroline Flack finally found love with 'best boyfriend' Lewis Burton but court contact ban tragically separated them

She told the court via videolink: “There were some aggravating features of the offence. Mr Burton was asleep at the time he was struck, therefore he was not necessarily in a position to know what it was he was struck with.

“But it was sufficient to cause a significant injury so it was not necessarily relevant what the object was.”

On the night of the alleged assault, Ms Flack was was taken to the Euston Free Hospital for treatment to arm injuries and was assessed by a psychiatrist.

The Coroner asked if Ms Flack’s deteriorating mental health since her arrest was taken into consideration when the decision to charge was made.

Ms Ramsarran replied: “That aspect was considered as part of the public interest test and it was deemed she was a low risk as it was confirmed there was no suicidal ideation or thoughts of self harm.”

The Coroner was also told that, from the outset, Mr Burton had not supported the prosecution.