Rapper's conviction for the murder of the Holby City actor's daughter has been overturned (2023)

A rapper arrested after filming the daughter of a Holby City actor who died of a drug overdose at a party has had his manslaughter conviction vacated, after an appeals court judge ruled prosecutors could not prove that they were dead and might have been alive if he had called for help.

Drug dealer Ceon Broughton, 31, supplied John Michie's daughter Louella Fletcher-Michie with the hallucinogen 2-CP at Bestival in Dorset but was released today after his eight-year sentence was revoked.

He was found guilty after spending six hours watching harrowing footage of his younger girlfriend overdosing on his phone as she yelled, "It's not LSD. I didn't expect that."

The videos horrified former Taggart star Michie and his wife Carol, who welcomed Broughton into their home hours after Louella's death in September 2017 and believed him innocent.

He was so familiar that he even spent Christmas at Michie's £1.2m north London home, worked with Louella's brother Sam, and was a guest on Mr. Michi.

But in court, the animosity between them was revealed when Mr. Michie looked at him while speaking from the witness stand.

As painful proof, he explained, "I think Louella loved Ceon. I'm not sure he loved her. I don't know how you can tell you love someone when you let them die before you did."

They later find themselves unexpectedly outside a court hearing and the father tells him "you're bad, bad", angering Broughton as he throws a coffee table across a room and attacks a water cooler.

The jury in the 2019 Winchester Crown Court trial wept as they watched footage of Louella's anguish as the effects of the drug showed her once trying to eat thorns.

Clips showed musician Broughton powering up his iPhone once to show it smiling and playing with a fidget spinner, and also plugging in his trademark sweatshirt.

During a 50-minute video, Louella yelled, "Make sure you film this. Get me a camera now. You better find Ceon. Don't put this on YouTube."

She also called him several times to call her mother and when they got the call, the sound of her daughter's overdose was so devastating that they got in the car to make the 130 mile drive from London to the festival site of Castle Lulworth in Dorset. Act. They were tragically too late to find her alive.

At 10:41 p.m. m. from that night, footage showed Broughton holding Louella's scratched hand, and a still image he took at 11:24 p.m. m. it seemed to show her lifeless at her feet.

But Broughton's conviction was overturned after her lawyer said prosecutors "have not proven" that she would have survived had she received any treatment, the crux of the original case against her.

After the appeal hearing, Broughton's lawyers said he remained "devastated" by Louella's death.

In a statement, they said: "The Court of Appeal ruled today that Louella's death was not the result of criminal negligence, but rather a tragic accident.

'Ceon remains devastated by her death.

"He always wished he had done more to save her.

"He loved Louella and she loved him, but he knows that no words will be enough to express his sense of responsibility for what happened or to ease the pain caused by others."

Miss Fletcher-Michie was found dead in a wood on the edge of the Lulworth Castle festival grounds on the morning of her 25th birthday, 11 September 2017.

Broughton, who raps under the stage name CEONRPG, was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison in March 2019 for manslaughter.

The jury was told that instead of calling 999, Broughton stayed in the secluded area of ​​the woods with Louella.

Prosecutors alleged that he avoided receiving help because he "did not want to be arrested" while on probation. A medical center was located near the area where they were sitting.

But today, Lord Burnett overturned the conviction in London's High Court, saying: "In our opinion, this is one of those rare cases where the jury could only rely on expert opinion to answer the question of causation. .

“This expert report was not adequate to determine causation under criminal law standards.

"Miss Darlow's final statement that at 9:10 PM Louella no longer had a 90% chance of survival accurately reflected Professor Deakin's statement, but for the reasons we have explained, this is not sufficient.

“In other words, when surgery carries a 10% personal mortality risk, both the patient and the doctor can confidently say that the chances of survival are very good or very good, but no one can be sure.

"In respectful disagreement with the judge, we conclude that the plaintiff's main argument, that the case should have been withdrawn from the grand jury, is established.

"Using the higher Galbraith test, the evidence presented by the prosecution could not establish causation under the criminal standard of evidence. Appeal of the manslaughter conviction should be allowed."

The trial at Winchester Crown Court heard that Broughton had received no help because he had been given a suspended sentence a month earlier and feared the consequences.

At the appeal hearing, Broughton's lawyer, Stephen Kamlish QC, argued that the conviction was uncertain because prosecutors "were unable to prove" that Ms Fletcher-Michie would have survived had she received any treatment.

He also argued that Broughton's trial was, in any event, "exaggerated".

The Lord. Kamlish QC told the Court of Appeal: "The Crown cannot prove now or in court that she would have survived had she been treated.

"What the Crown now argues is that if they had deprived the deceased of the chance to survive through medical treatment, they would have survived, but that also means they may or may not have survived.

"This is not the correct wording for the Crown to prove causation. The whistleblower tried to get help. Therefore, he cannot be described as grossly negligent under criminal law."

He said Broughton felt unable to leave Ms Fletcher-Michie alone in the woods when she suffered a "bad trip" and did not realize she was in mortal danger.

Kamlish added: "So if you look at the instructions given by the wise judge, whether it's easy or difficult to get help, based on our model, if Louella could walk on her own, it would be difficult."

He said Professor Charles Deakin had addressed whether medical intervention could have helped the trial, while other experts had focused on the cause of death.

The Lord. Kamlish said the prosecution's evidence did not prove any causation against the defendant.

In her final moments, captured on camera, Ms Fletcher-Michie said: "My mum and dad, my brother and sister, I love them so much."

Her mother, Carol Fletcher-Michie, said she "dropped everything" and traveled to the festival site with her husband after contacting Broughton and listening to her daughter in the background.

Broughton, from Enfield, north London, denied this but the jury convicted him of manslaughter and Class A drug supply.

His manslaughter conviction was overturned. He did not appeal his conviction for supplying Class A drugs.

Broughton previously admitted to supplying Ms Fletcher-Michie with drugs at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2017, in violation of a suspended sentence imposed for possession of a Stanley knife and knife blade.

Prosecutors told jury at her trial that Broughton failed to take "reasonable" steps to seek medical attention for Ms. Fletcher-Michie.

The harrowing images shown to the court showed videos he took of her under the influence.

The first was scheduled for 5:53 p.m. m., and the 50-minute clip had Louella hallucinating wildly.

"This is the best trip I've ever been on," he repeatedly told the camera. "I see colored taxis... Magical monkey riding through the forest."

She was later seen screaming, "This is the happiest I've ever had. This is insane. I'm so happy, the best day of my life. I've been taking acid. This isn't acid. I didn't do it." Don't expect that.

Broughton previously admitted to supplying Ms Fletcher-Michie with drugs at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2017, in violation of a suspended sentence imposed for possession of a Stanley knife and knife blade.

Prosecutors told jury at her trial that Broughton failed to take "reasonable" steps to seek medical attention for Ms. Fletcher-Michie.

They said that he had not received any help because he had been given a suspended sentence a month earlier and feared the consequences.

The Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett, Justice Sweeney and Justice Murray delivered their judgment this morning.

A representative for Michie declined to comment.