Louella Fletcher-Michie trial: Jury reminded how Ceon Broughton filmed girlfriend as she died from drug overdose at Bestival
The jury in the trial of Ceon Broughton, the man accused of manslaughter over the drug overdose death of Louella Fletcher-Michie at a music festival, will shortly begin their deliberations.
Mr Broughton’s barrister, Stephen Kamlish QC, urged the jury on Tuesday morning in his closing statement not to seek “vengeance” over Ms Fletcher-Michie’s death at Bestival in September 2017.
The court heard during the course of the trial how the 29-year-old filmed his on-off girlfriend as she overdosed on class A substance 2-CP at the music event the night before her 25th birthday.
Mr Broughton denies any wrongdoing.
On the final day of testimony, the jury were reminded by the judge how Mr Broughton filmed his dying girlfriend for 50 mins as she suffered from the overdose.
The prosecution claim he supplied the drugs to Ms Fletcher-Michie and should have organised medical help as soon as he realised she was struggling.
But Mr Kamlish told the jury they should not see the case in hindsight.
"If you think ‘morally wrong’; ‘he should have done more’ and ‘if he gave the drugs, he should pay’; ‘he should not have been thinking of himself’ … We all think those things, all of us normal people, including Ceon – now, in hindsight.
“But that is not the basis on which you should decide this case, [although] it is tempting to do so.”
Mr Broughton had realised just how ill Ms Fletcher-Michie was and his video showed not that he was callous or indifferent, but unaware how close to death the 24-year-old was.
The jury heard how Mr Broughton had tried to get help, telling another friend at Bestival where the pair were.
But the judge also reminded them how he had spoken with Ms Fletcher-Michie's mother and brother on the phone during the evening, who pleaded with him to take her to the medical tent.
Despite being just 400m from the medical tent, Mr Broughton did not take her to professional help.
Instead, he continued filming as his girlfriend gradually died over several hours, during which she became incoherent and even screamed "like a wild animal".
Mr Broughton is charged with gross negligence manslaughter and supplying a Class A drug.
If found guilty and sentenced to the maximum possible term of imprisonment, he could face 18 years in jail.
To read updates from the trial as it happened, see our live coverage below:
Describing how a police officer spoke to Broughton at 1.36am, about half an hour after Louella had been found dead, the judge recalls that the constable observed: "In the police tent, the defendant saw the deceased's mother and shouted to her, 'I kept looking for her.'"
Turning to the issue of who supplied the drugs, the judge says: "The defence says he [Broughton] didn't remember he had 2C-P in the back of his phone, but the fact is, he did."
The judge said that when John Michie went into the witness box, he told the court that Broughton had sounded "watery, distant" over the phone.
"I didn't hear any concern in his voice," Mr Michie had told the court.
The judge said Mr Michie had told the court that Broughton had failed to get help "over six hours", whereas the actor said if he had been in that situation, "I would have done everything possible."
The judge recalls Carol Fletcher-Michie's evidence and how Louella's mother said "We welcomed the defendant to our house", including during Christmas 2016.
The judge acknowledges there is dispute about whether Louella was dead in the image taken by Broughton at 23:25 showing Louella partially covered by a black coat.
He says: "Professor Deakin says she was most likely dead."
At 22:56, the judge says, Broughton sent Louella's father John Michie a message saying: "Going to make sure she gets right medical, carrying her down now."
He then sent another message to the Holby City actor saying: "I don't want to leave her."
The judge recalls that Mr Campbell later advised Broughton "Fam, just act like you don't know her."
The prosecution has alleged Broughton was reluctant to call an ambulance for Louella because he was worried about getting in trouble with the police because he had already picked up a suspended prison sentence for a previous offence.
The judge says of the video: "at 20 minutes there is a screeching quality to her voice. She now doesn't appear to react when spoken to by the defendant.
After Louella's death, the judge says, a detective investigated the prevalence of drugs at Bestival 2017, based partly on the recollections of organisers and security staff.
The judge says this produced the findings that 225 people were indicated by sniffer dogs and 36 per cent were found with drugs.
The judge adds: "There were no seizures of 2C-P."
When drugs amnesty bins were checked, the judge says, there were found to contain 1,456 items.
"Nine of them were 2C-B," says the judge, "But no 2C-P was found.
"So where did the 2C-P come from? Who supplied the 2C-P? The prosecution say it was the defendant."
