Caroline Flack took overdose night before court hearing in previous suicide attempt
Love Island host Caroline Flack died in February but an inquest into her death has found she took a drug overdose two months prior on the night before she was due to appear in court
Caroline Flack suffered a drug overdose on the night before her court appearance last December.
An inquest into her death in February 2020 resumed at Poplar Coroner’s Court in London today before Senior Coroner Mary Hassell, and Caroline’s family are attending via video link.
The telly presenter took her own life at her flat in Stoke Newington, north-east London on February 15 – days after learning her trial over an alleged attack on boyfriend Lewis Burton was going ahead.
A witness statement from Harley Street psychiatrist Dr Brian Wells was presented to court today and he revealed Caroline had “taken a small overdose” on the night before her court appearance last December.
He explained that on 11pm December 22 2019, he was alerted by Caroline’s management that she had taken a “small drug overdose” in a London hotel.
He was told Caroline had been drinking alcohol. He arrived at the hotel in 30 minutes and found Caroline inebriated in bed “vomiting into a waste bin”.
Dr Brian Wells said Flack had apparently “taken a small overdose” and was “fully conscious although somewhat inebriated”.
Friends were present and Dr Wells said he was told she was due to appear in court the following morning and had become “distressed”, begun drinking and taken a “mixture of medication”.
He added she was “clearly anxious” about her forthcoming court appearance.
He said: “I found a lady who was inebriated in bed, vomiting into a waste bin. There were others present being supportive. It transpired the client was Caroline.
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“She was due at Islington Magistrates Court the following morning and had become distressed – she drunk alcohol and impulsively taken a mixture of medications.”
He said Caroline strongly said she had suicidal intent and he recommended she did not need to go to hospital.
Flack’s twin sister Jody said in a written statement, read in part by the coroner Mary Hassell, that her sibling was “in a very anxious state of mind” before her death and said an ambulance had been called for her four times previously.She said: “Heartbreak is something Caroline found extremely difficult.
“She attempted to take her own life the night before she appeared in court. I believe the shame… was too much to deal with.”
Caroline went to the court hearing the following day and pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault via beating.
Her boyfriend Burton always maintained her innocence, while her family slammed prosecutors for pursuing the case against the star – calling it a “show trial”.
She stepped down from hosting Love Island, and in an unpublished Instagram post released by her family after her death Caroline said her “whole world and future was swept from under my feet” after her arrest.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, the Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Caroline Flack.
“It is normal practice for prosecutors to hold a debriefing in complex or sensitive cases after they have ended.
“This has taken place and found that the case was handled appropriately and in line with our published legal guidance.”
During today’s hearing, it was revealed Caroline left a note for Burton on the day of her death.
He also spoke about her mental state in his witness statement, stating the last time he saw Caroline she was”very upset”, “devastated” and not in a good place.
He explained: “What was bothering her most the was the police case and losing her presenting job on Love Island, the media attention plus not being able to see me.”
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