Friends and family of Caroline Flack are offering insight into the Love Island host's final days prior to her death in Feb. 2020.
On Wednesday, August 5, the TV personality's mother and twin sister, Chris and Jodi Flack respectively, addressed the coroner's court regarding the inquest into Caroline's death. They claimed that in the days leading up to her suicide, she was "hounded by the press" because of the upcoming assault trial involving her boyfriend Lewis Burton, an event that Chris described as a "show trial."
"I believe Caroline was seriously let down by the authorities and in particular the CPS (Crown Prosecution Services) for pursuing the case," she alleged, per The Guardian. "There was disputed evidence in court... Being well known should not allow special treatment, but should not allow making an example of someone."
According to the BBC, Lisa Ramsarran, a deputy chief crown prosecutor, told the inquest that the CPS originally set out to "caution" Flack for allegedly abusing boyfriend Burton. However, they were forced to prosecute the star because the Metropolitan police claimed it was in the public's interest.
In Dec. 2019, Lewis called emergency services and alleged his girlfriend had "cracked his head" by throwing a lamp at him while he was sleeping. At the time, Flack disputed his claims, insisting they were fighting over his suspected infidelity when she made a "flicking gesture" with her phone, which made contact with his head. She added she was surprised to see him bleeding "profusely."
During the same night, Caroline wounded herself and was taken to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation. The evaluation deemed she was of sound mind.
Burton asked the CPS to not pursue prosecution, to no avail.
The sister of the late star said Caroline was "devastated" over the assault charges, which she plead not guilty to, and felt she couldn't "tell her side of the story," even as the press called her an "abuser."
"Her life and reputation she worked hard to build was falling apart … because of a false accusation," Jodi explained. "It was our belief it would not be happening to her if she wasn't in the public eye... At worst, her career and reputation, so precious to her, had been taken away."
She continued, "Caroline spent the last few months of her life hiding inside, scared of the abuse... Caroline seemed very sad the day before her death—she seemed to have lost her fight."
Two of Caroline's friends, Louise Teasdale and Mollie Grosberg, shared their belief that Caroline attempted to take her life the night before she was found dead in her London apartment. They claimed to have found the star barely conscious with a bottle of pills lying nearby, but when paramedics arrived, Caroline stated she took the medication as "an attempt to sleep and escape from the stresses she was under," according to the first responder who evaluated her.
The paramedic said he advised her to go to the hospital but she refused.
Teasdale and Grosberg added they stayed with her that night, but left the next morning as Flack was upset with them for calling emergency services.
The 40-year-old was found dead in her apartment later that day, February 15. A coroner's report revealed she died of suicide by hanging and had a slightly higher amount of sleeping medication in her system than prescribed.
The inquest is expected to conclude later this week.