Caroline Flack was found hanged at her home in east London, an inquest into her death heard today.
The former Love Island host was found dead in her flat on Saturday, the day after she had been told that the CPS was pursuing the court case against her.
No members of her family were present as the inquest opened at Poplar Coroner’s Court in east London this morning.
Coroner’s officer Sandra Polson said police were driving through Northwold Road, Stoke Newington, on Saturday February 15 when they were flagged down.
She said Ms Flack was ‘found lying on her back, she had apparently been found hanging’.
Police attempted resuscitation, which was then continued by paramedics, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Her body was identified by her sister, Jody Flack, the inquest heard.
The much-loved TV star had pleaded not guilty to assault by beating at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court in North London on December 23 and was due to go on trial at March 4.
Her family and managers have since accused the CPS of a ‘show trial’ that put pressure on the troubled star in the days before her death.
This morning, her mother released an unpublished Instagram post the star wrote in the days before her death in which she said her arrest had meant her whole world had ‘collapsed’.
The presenter insisted in the heart-rending message that she was not a domestic abuser and that her alleged assault on boyfriend Lewis Burton was an accident.
In the message, shared by her mother Chris, the former Love Island host explained how her ‘whole world and future was swept from under my feet’ in the 24 hours following her arrest.
The presenter insisted that she was not a domestic abuser and that her alleged assault on boyfriend Lewis Burton, pictured together, was an accident
Caroline Flack pictured leaving Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court in North London in December 2019
Flack’s personal woes began when police were seen outside the presenter’s residence, where she lived with Burton, during the early hours of December 14 after reports emerged that a man had been attacked
In a message, shared today by her mother Chris (pictured right), Flack explained how her ‘whole world and future was swept from under my feet’ in the 24 hours following her arrest
The inquest heard the provisional cause of death was given as suspension by ligature. The hearing, which lasted four minutes, was adjourned until August 5.
In the post released by her family today, Flack revealed that she had been having ‘some sort of emotional breakdown for a very long time’ as that she and her family ‘could not take it anymore’.
The 40-year-old had planned to post the message on social media and had shown it to her mother at the end of January, but was advised not to share it with her millions of followers.
Flack said she ‘took responsibility for what happened that night’ but said it had been an accident and she ‘was NOT a domestic abuser’.
It was revealed yesterday how Flack had undergone two risk assessments to find out if her bail conditions of not being allowed to contact her boyfriend could be varied.
Under the Offender Assessment System introduced in 2001, there are two main risks considered – of future re-offending, and of serious harm to themselves or others.
But the court heard how, even though her risk factor had been downgraded from ‘high’ to ‘medium,’ she could not see him until at least after the March appearance.
At the court in December, prosecutor Katie Weiss said police had lowered the risk level against Mr Burton, but the CPS still opposed removing the bail conditions.
A ‘medium’ risk level means the offender is unlikely to cause serious harm unless there is a change in circumstances, such as relationship breakdown or drug misuse.
Miss Flack took her own life at home in this building in Stoke Newington, East London, on Saturday
Former CPS chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal said prosecutors could halt proceedings if the risk to the defendant’s health outweighed a public interest in them standing trial.
But Mr Afzal added that they were under pressure to pursue convictions for domestic violence amid concerns that too many prosecutions were dropped.
The former Love Island presenter killed herself just hours after she learned prosecutors had decided to press ahead with the court case, with her trial just over a fortnight away.
CPS lawyers decided to prosecute Miss Flack even after Mr Burton asked police not to proceed. A court was told she hit him over the head with a lamp.
Known as an ‘evidence-led prosecution’, it would have relied not on his testimony but on material gathered by police such as bodycam footage taken at her home.
Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court heard that, in the aftermath of the alleged incident, Miss Flack told police ‘I did it’ then warned she would kill herself.
But Miss Flack’s management company criticised the CPS for pressing ahead with what it called her ‘show trial’ even after Mr Burton said he did not support it.
The hearing at Poplar Coroner’s Court was brief, with the coroner adjourning proceedings to allow the police investigation to continue.
Flack’s death, confirmed on Saturday evening, was the latest connected to the ITV2 show and prompted a tidal wave of grief from celebrity friends and members of the public.
Flack stepped down from presenting the current winter series of Love Island after an alleged assault on boyfriend Lewis Burton.
The TV star pleaded not guilty at a court hearing in December and was released on bail.
But she was ordered to stop having any contact with Burton ahead of a trial which had been due to begin in March.
The dating show did not air on Saturday or Sunday as a mark of respect to her family and returned on Monday with a tribute to Flack, who started hosting the programme in 2015.
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