TV star’s daughter may have taken too much of party drug to be saved

The daughter of Holby City actor John Michie who died at a music festival might not have been saved even if she had received earlier medical help, the jury in the trial of her boyfriend has been told.

Victim Louella Fletcher-Michie was the daughter of Scottish TV actor John Michie. Picture: PA

Ceon Broughton is accused at Winchester Crown Court of being responsible for the death of 24-year-old Louella Fletcher-Michie.

The yoga and dance teacher took class A party drug 2-CP at Bestival in Dorset in September 2017 and died in woodland an hour before her 25th birthday.

Broughton, from Enfield in north London, denies manslaughter by gross negligence and supplying the drug.

The prosecution claims the 30-year-old defendant failed to take reasonable action to get medical help for Miss Fletcher-Michie.

The court has heard Miss Fletcher-Michie is understood to be the first person to have died after taking the drug.

Giving his closing speech yesterday, Broughton’s barrister Stephen Kamlish told the jury a lack of medical information about the effects of the drug meant it was “impossible” to tell whether any action taken by the defendant could have prevented her death.

He said the toxicology report was inconclusive about the amount of the drug Miss Fletcher-Michie had taken.

Mr Kamlish said the prosecution expert, Professor Charles Deakin, a consultant in cardiac anaesthesia and intensive care, had changed his opinion on the chances of survival.

He said Prof Deakin first of all gave a cut-off point that she could have survived after 9:10pm.

Mr Kamlish said the expert had changed this after a request for clarity from police and said she had, on the balance of probabilities, a 90 per cent chance of survival with medical intervention after taking the drug.

“There is a possibility that, even Prof Deakin himself acknowledged, that she might have taken so much that she could not have been saved while it was in her system, which means Ceon cannot be held to blame, however bad you find his behaviour,” Mr Kamlish said.

“Why is someone being prosecuted for the death of someone who may never have survived?”

Mr Kamlish said: “No-one says he intended to cause her harm. They were going to have a good time, it was her birthday, she chose to take that drug. Something was different that day, she had never reacted that way before. You can’t be sure, like Prof Deakin can’t be sure, that she hadn’t taken too much.”