TV presenter Caroline Flack left suicide note about hoping to ‘find harmony’ with boyfriend Lewis Burton
Former 'Love Island' and 'X Factor' presenter Caroline Flack left an emotional handwritten note to boyfriend Lewis Burton on the day of her death, an inquest heard on Wednesday, August 5. Flack was found hanged at her home in Stoke Newington, London, on February 15 this year while she was facing trial for allegedly assaulting Burton in December 2019. A paramedic found the note on a coffee table that read: “I hope me and Lewis can one day find harmony.”
The inquest into the 40-year-old’s death has been resumed today and her mother, Christine, said in a written statement: “I believe Caroline was seriously let down by the authorities and in particular the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) for pursuing the case. 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.”
“The result of the media attention of this hearing forced Caroline to leave her home which she loved. Being well known should not allow special treatment, but should not allow making an example of someone. She lost the job she worked so hard at. I was with her the weekend before her death, in her new flat. When I said goodbye to her that day I never thought it would be for the last time. I kissed her and she said: 'Bye mum',” Christine added.
The court also heard today how Flack’s twin sister Jody and friends tried to enter her home where she killed herself. The first witness into today’s hearing was Stephen Teasdale, father of Flack's friend Louise, who told the court he went to the address after Jody called him saying she was not able to enter her sister’s house. “We came to the flat and tried to force entry. We thought about phoning the police but knew the landlady ... We got the key and let ourselves into the flat,” Teasdale said, adding he found Flack’s body hanging. “I brought her (down) and Jody started CPR. We were giving CPR for somewhere between five and ten minutes, then the police took over.”
Paramedic David O'Toole also gave his statement and said when he entered the actress’ place, he saw two women sitting on the sofa looking "extremely distressed" and CPR was performed by police officers on Flack. “My first impression was that she had been dead for a number of hours,” O'Toole added.
While Jody said she believed her twin sister attempted suicide in December, ahead of her first appearance at the magistrate’s court for alleged assault on the British model. She said the host was “in a very anxious state of mind” before her death and revealed earlier ambulance had been called for her four times. “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,” Jody stated.
Meanwhile, in February, after the suicide of Flack, her family released an unpublished Instagram message that she had written days before her death. "On December the 12th 2019 I was arrested for common assault on my boyfriend... 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," the post read.