We were right to put Caroline Flack on trial: Prosecutor defends decision to pursue domestic abuse case against the tragic TV presenter
- Former chief prosecutor Ed Beltrami said it was right to charge Caroline Flack
- He said the Love Island presenter could have killed ‘terrified’ Lewis Burton, 27
- Miss Flack, 40, was arrested and charged with assault by beating last year
- She took her own life on February 15, after learning CPS were pressing charges
The prosecutor who decided to put Caroline Flack on trial has said she could have killed her boyfriend during an attack last year – and he was ‘terrified’ he was going to die.
Ed Beltrami said it was right to charge her as the star could have lost her temper and attacked Lewis Burton again.
Miss Flack, 40, was arrested and charged with assault by beating after allegedly hitting the 27-year-old with a lamp while he was asleep at the home they shared in north London.
Caroline Flack, 40, was charged with assault by beating after allegedly hitting her boyfriend Lewis Burton, 27, with a lamp. Miss Flack took her own life on February 15, a day after she learnt the Crown Prosecution Service was pressing ahead with a trial
Ed Beltrami (pictured) said it was right to charge the presenter, as Lewis Burton was ‘terrified’ he was going to die. He said Miss Flack could have lost her temper and attacked him again
Defending the decision, Mr Beltrami said: ‘Supposing we had made a decision not to proceed… and she loses her temper again on another occasion, hits him a bit harder with a lamp or with something else, and he dies. How would that look then?’
The Love Island presenter took her own life on February 15, a day after she learnt the Crown Prosecution Service was pressing ahead with a trial.
Her boyfriend, who received a head injury in the incident, had declined to support the prosecution.
Mr Beltrami said the charge could not be dropped just because Mr Burton did not want it to go to court, adding: ‘The facts of this case were the guy had made his complaint… he was terrified he was going to be killed.’
He added: ‘But obviously when you make that decision to proceed with the case you have absolutely no idea the defendant is going to take her own life. You can’t anticipate that.’