Ceon Broughton supplied Louella Fletcher-Michie with 2C-P before her death at festival

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A musician who filmed Holby City actor John Michie’s daughter as she was dying after giving her a lethal dose of drugs at a music festival has been found guilty of manslaughter.

Ceon Broughton, 30, was also convicted of supplying his 24-year-old girlfriend Louella Fletcher-Michie with party drug 2C-P before her body was discovered curled up in woodland at Bestival, in Dorset.

Broughton filmed yoga and dance teacher Fletcher-Michie as her condition deteriorated and she pleaded with him to telephone her mother, Carol.

Jurors at Winchester crown court were shown footage in which Fletcher-Michie repeatedly shouts at Broughton to phone her mother but he dismisses her, telling her to “put your phone away”.

Broughton, who performs under the stage name CEONRPG and has recorded music with grime artist Skepta, showed no emotion as the verdicts were announced.

He was accused earlier in the trial by a prosecutor of failing to get help because he feared the consequences, having been handed a suspended jail term just one month earlier.

The court heard how Fletcher-Michie’s mother eventually contacted Broughton at 6.48pm to hear her child “screeching” before rushing with her husband to the festival to find her in September 2017.

Speaking outside court after the verdicts were announced, ex-Coronation Street and Taggart actor Michie, 62, , said: “Regardless of the outcome of this harrowing trial, there were never going to be any winners.

“We began our life sentence on what would have been Louella’s 25th birthday. Ceon’s life sentence is knowing he didn’t help Louella to live.”

Michie had confronted Broughton – who denied the charges and declined to give evidence – towards the end of the trial in the court waiting area, calling him “evil”.

Fletcher-Michie’s sister Daisy also told him: “All we wanted from you was an apology.” Broughton lost his temper, throwing a wooden table against a wall, before damaging a water cooler. He had to be restrained by police, security staff and his legal team.

Prosecutors argued during the trial that Broughton, from Enfield, north London, failed to take reasonable steps to seek medical help for his girlfriend.

Prosecutor William Mousley QC said Broughton had given the drugs to her and he had a duty of care to look after her.

The court also heard how Fletcher-Michie scraped thorns across her face and ate twigs after apparently having a “bad trip”.

Her body was later found by a security guard at about 1am about 400 metres from the festival’s hospital tent curled up in trees as if she had lain down for a sleep, the court heard.

Craig Welsh, a security worker, told the court how he found the body after being approached by Fletcher-Michie’s desperate parents who had driven 130 miles from their home in London wanting to search for their daughter.

Welsh said: “Mr Michie had his mobile phone. He showed me a Google pin drop. Both parents were distressed. He wanted to gain access to the site to go searching for his daughter … I contacted the event controller and explained, but it was refused.

“Because I suggested I knew where it was, I said if he was happy I would take his phone and go to the location. He gave me the phone.”

Welsh told the court how he and a colleague found the body in a forest area. “She was laid facing up. It was as if she was curled up,” he said.

Aiden Lawrence, another security worker, said Broughton’s behaviour was “erratic” when he did go to find help. “He kept wanting to run off,” he told the court.

A postmortem examination found the hallucinogenic class A drug 2C-P and traces of ketamine and MDMA in her system.

Fletcher-Michie had a 90% chance of survival if she had been given medical help, Prof Charles Deakin, a consultant in cardiac anaesthesia and intensive care, told the court.

Stephen Kamlish QC, defending, said Broughton did not realise his girlfriend was at risk of dying and did not want to leave her alone in the woods while she was suffering a “bad trip”.

Broughton tried to help by sending text messages and their GPS position via Google Maps, he added.

Broughton is due to be sentenced on Friday. He previously pleaded guilty to supplying 2C-P to Fletcher-Michie and another person at Glastonbury festival earlier in 2017.

In a statement released on behalf of Fletcher-Michie’s family shortly after her death, they said: “Our hearts are broken by this horrific tragedy. Louella inspired all who knew her with her joy of life.”