Mark Blanco’s story has received considerable press coverage. These articles are linked here for your reading so you may understand the history of the case.
You can also view our archive of PDF copies of press articles, as some are not republished online.
Press or bloggers are welcome to cover the story, you can find background information on the case and materials to use.
16/4/2019 Daily Mail
Mother whose son died in suspicious circumstances at party attended by Pete Doherty slams BBC for letting him promote his album on Radio 4 show
15/8/2018 Vice.com
A Death at a Pete Doherty Party Is Still Unexplained
1/12/2016 East London Adverstiser
‘Re-enact my son’s death’ Mark Blanco’s mum urges, 10 years on from suspect fall at Whitechapel
6/11/2016 Daily Mail
Forensic expert launches new bid to prove an aspiring actor WAS murdered when he plunged from a balcony at a party attended by Pete Doherty
5/11/2016 The Guardian
Police urged to reconstruct death fall at Pete Doherty party
Forensic expert argues restaging could show whether Mark Blanco fell or was pushed from balcony 10 years ago
03/12/2015 -East London Advertiser
Mark Blanco’s killing in Whitechapel—a mother still waits 9 years on for justice
04/12/2014 -East London Advertiser
Call for Home Office probe into Mark Blanco’s death at Pete Doherty party in Whitechapel.
30/06/2014 – The Observer
Pete Doherty, the death of Mark Blanco and a mother’s long fight for the truth
It’s a list that begins with Doherty and ends with the Metropolitan police. Strange bedfellows in a protracted and disturbing tragedy.
December 2013- The Oldie
One year on
Blanco: latest developments
Police investigating the death of actor Mark Blanco, who fell from a balcony in suspicious circumstances at a party in 2006, have admitted to his mother that they are only now starting to review new evidence broadcast on Newsnight almost a year ago.
The Newsnight report (reviewed at the time by our award-winning TV critic) contained interviews of several witnesses from the east London party held by drug dealer Paul Roundhill and attended by the pop star Pete Doherty and his minder. It also commissioned analysis of the CCTV footage taken outside the flat from US-based expert video analyst, Grant Fredericks.
Fredericks concluded that ‘the images strongly suggest that one person is leaning far over the balcony as Blanco’s body is moving outward and downward from the balcony railing.’ James Saunders, the Blanco family’s solicitor, wrote to the Crown Prosecution Service earlier this year to alert them to the new evidence. He told the CPS, ‘Although the identity of the person behind Mark Blanco is not revealed by the enhancement, the knowledge that there was such a person confirms Mrs Blanco’s view that this is a homicide case.
‘The throwing of a passive person over a balcony, onto a pavement below, must be a dangerous act at the very least, and is more suggestive of murder.’
After repeatedly calling for a new investigation into the case, Mark’s mother Sheila Blanco recently received an admission that the investigating police officer has only just received the discs containing the Newsnight report and Fredericks’s review. Detective Superintendent Fiona Mallon wrote to tell Mrs Blanco that the police received the discs on 13th October, adding that ‘Police were previously not aware that the tapes existed.
I understand that Jenny Hopkins [Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor] of the Crown Prosecution Service will be writing to apologise for the delay on their part in passing the discs onto police and for failing to make police aware of their existence until now.’
One might have hoped that the police’s investigating officer would have noticed Newsnight’s high profile media investigation and asked for the evidence directly. But alas, no. Mrs Blanco believes the police letter and CPS activity are partly in response to the recent flurry of media articles about the Blanco case and partly thanks to a letter of complaint her solicitor wrote to the DPP Keir Starmer about the police delays.
She tells us, ‘Police have dismissed other evidence that I’ve put to them as irrelevant. They are in a real mess with this case. They’re now starting to realise, after all these years, that I’m not going away.’
Mrs Blanco is calling on the police to conduct further tests using ‘calibrated reverse projection analysis’ to further enhance the CCTV footage. DS Mallon told her that the case’s investigating officer would now seek expert digital advice and would review the interviews in the Newsnight report.
4/12/2013 – Feminist Times
Mothers who fight for Justice: Sheila Blanco
Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Dr Sara Payne MBE, Christine Lord, Kate McCann, Winnie Johnson. All these mothers have fought, and continue to fight, on behalf of their children who have passed away or disappeared in tragic circumstances. A mother demanding justice is a powerful force. She can embarrass establishments, shame perpetrators, change the law – but what is the personal cost of devoting one’s life to ‘justice’ and why do some mothers fight?
21/10/2013 – The Times
Call for cold-case review of Doherty party death fall
21/10/2013 – Express
Mother calls for review into Pete Doherty party death
21/10/2013 – NME
Mark Blanco’s family calls for new enquiry after his death at a party with Pete Doherty The actor’s mother says further analysis could prove that his death was not an accident
20/10/2013 – Evening Standard
Pete Doherty should pay for CCTV expert to examine footage that could explain my son’s death
20/10/2013 – Mail Online
Mother of man who died at Pete Doherty party says there is CCTV evidence that can prove her son’s death was not an accident
19/10/2013 – The Observer
Mark Blanco’s mother urges new inquiry into death of son at Pete Doherty party
22/2/2013 – NME
Mother of man who died at Pete Doherty party says new evidence will prove he was murdered.
Mark Blanco died following east London party in 2006
20/2/2013 – International Business Times
New Evidence ‘Will Prove Murder of Pete Doherty Party Gatecrasher Mark Blanco’
Death plunge from east London balcony was murder and I will prove it, says victim’s mother, Sheila Blanco
February 2013 – The Oldie
Having seen Sheila Blanco, I would guess that her determination to discover the truth will prevail….
One of the difficulties about Newsnight is that it goes out quite late at 10.30 which lessens its impact when it does something worthwhile. A recent example was reporter Peter Marshall’s investigation into the death of Mark Blanco, a young actor who died in 2006 after apparently falling from the balcony of a Whitechapel flat belonging to drug dealer Paul Roundhill, who was hosting a party attended by the pop singer Pete Doherty and his minder Johnny ‘Headlock’ Jeannevol. For over five years Blanco’s mother Sheila, convinced that there was foul play, has campaigned for a proper police investigation. No one from the police appeared on the Newsnight film, nor did Doherty. But the inarticulate accounts given by Roundhill and ‘Headlock’ appeared to confirm Sheila Blanco’s suspicions, as did the evidence of an American expert on interpreting CCTV footage, Grant Fredericks, who testified that it looked from the CCTV images as if Blanco was ‘being carried and dropped from the balcony’. Having seen Sheila Blanco, I would guess that her determination to discover the truth will eventually prevail. In the meantime she needs help to continue the campaign. Donations should be sent to the Mark Blanco Fund, HSBC sort code 40 22 26, account number 32507234. You can also donate using Paypal see top right-hand corner.
Richard Ingrams
11/01/2013 Petition
Demand for Justice for Mark Blanco www.change.org
Now closed and forwarded to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner.
There has been no response.
7/12/2012 BBC News
CCTV suggests death fall Mark Blanco probably ‘dropped’
BBC Newsnight has been examining the case over the last eight months after the Crown Prosecution Service decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute any individual. See Youtube
7/12/2012 Daily Mail
Actor who fell to his death at Pete Doherty flat party ‘was probably dropped from balcony’ claim news night experts.
26/11/2012 London Evening Standard
Pete Doherty’s claim over Whitechapel death fall “shameless” says mother of victim
14/04/2012 – The Observer
Family fury at new Doherty claim over death at party
8/04/2012 – The Daily Mail
Pete Doherty admits he feels ashamed after walking away from dying man
9/01/2012 – The Sunday Express
Still no justice from the Yard
19/06/2011 – The Telegraph
Pete Doherty: who will stop the Pied Piper of heroin?
9/06/2011 – Victoria Derbyshire BBC5 live
The mother of Cambridge graduate, Mark Blanco, speaks to Victoria Derbyshire
15/05/2011 – The Independent
“I’ve kept his slippers. They remind me of the way he walked….”
12/05/2011 – Sky News on No Charges For Doherty
http://news.sky.com/story/855129/no-charges-for-doherty-over-balcony-death and YouTube Video
12/05/2011 – The Metro
Family’s fury as Pete Doherty faces no charges over balcony death
2/02/2011 – BBC News
Pete Doherty meets police over flat death
3/02/2011 – The Daily Mail
Police question singer Pete Doherty over balcony death of Cambridge graduate
16/09/2010 – The Guardian
James McMahon: What does Pete Doherty know about the night Mark Blanco died?
24/08/2010 – The Times
Anne Sebba: A Mother’s fight for Justice
01/02/2010 – Mail Online
MELANIE PHILLIPS: It’s one of the great mysteries of our age. Why, after 22 drug convictions, isn’t Pete Doherty in jail?
31/01/2010 – The Observer
Pete Doherty: the gifted artists who pay a fatal price after entering his orbit
31/01/2010 – News of the World
Cops Ask For Our Pete Tape
29/01/2010 – Mail Online
Pete Doherty flies to Russia to avoid police drugs quiz
17/01/2010 – The News of The World
Doherty Faces New Death Quiz
13/12/2009 – The Sunday Express
CCTV ANALYSIS: Mark Blanco Death
13/12/2009 – The Sunday Express
Police ‘Betrayal’ Over Death at Pete Doherty Rave
09/12/2009 – The Independent
‘My son was killed – and Doherty and his cronies were in some way culpable,’ says mother
27/11/2009 – The Sun
Doherty May Face Probe On Death Fall
26/11/2009 – East London Advertiser
New ‘evidence’ proves Mark Blanco’s death was not an accident
26/11/2009 – Mail Online
We have proof he was killed, say family of Pete Doherty party plunge actor
22/11/2009 – The Sunday Times
My boy Mark Blanco’s death was no accident
26/06/2009 – GetSurrey.co.uk
Crusade over son’s ‘Pete Doherty party’ death
25/06/2009 – The Daily Express
Jimmy Carr To Help Solve Death Riddle
18/01/2009 – The Sunday Express
Doherty Mystery: Where Is Justice For My Son?
11/01/2009 – The Sunday Express
VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Rock Star Pete Doherty Flees Scene Of Mystery Death
04/12/2007 – DailyMail
Police re-open probe into balcony death of actor at Pete Doherty party
29/10/2007 – Mail on Sunday
‘This is my son after a night partying with Pete Doherty’; a mother tells her harrowing story
05/10/2007 – Patrick Barkham – The Guardian
Police to reopen case of actor who fell to death after row with Doherty
05/05/2007 – The Independent on Sunday
Richard Ingrams’ Week: Another accidental death, another bereaved parent. (No longer available)
10/12/2007 – The Guardian
The damaged world of Doherty’s circle
10/12/2007 – Mail Online
Doherty bouncer tells of last moments before actor’s death
10/12/2007 – NickWilsdon.com
Did Pete Doherty and friends murder Mark Blanco? (No longer available)
10/12/2006 – The Evening Standard
Doherty bouncer tells of last moments before actor’s death
10/12/2006 – Mail Online
Pete Doherty, The Big K, and what really happened at the Hotel in the Sky
10/12/2006 – The Independent
Sick and inhumane Pete Doherty left my son to die
09/12/2006 – The Sun
Flat owner is Pete’s svengali
08/12/2006 – London Evening Standard
Did he fall – or was he pushed? Questions surround Doherty and the party death
07/12/2006 – The Sun
Party victim ‘did not jump’
07/12/2006 – Mail Online
Party fall actor had clash with Doherty