Pete Doherty 'party row' death investigation closed despite 'new evidence' claim
Police told the mum of Mark Blanco, 30, who died after falling from the balcony of a flat where Libertines star Pete Doherty was partying, that his death 'will not be actively investigated further'
Police have closed the case of a man who died after a row with musician Pete Doherty despite claims of new evidence that he was murdered, the Mirror can reveal.
Nobody has ever been charged over the death of actor Mark Blanco, 30, who fell from the balcony of an East London flat in 2006 where the Libertines star was partying. A 2023 documentary claimed to have uncovered expert evidence that Mark was killed. Mark's mother Sheila, who has hired a lawyer who helped wronged subpostmasters win justice, filed a 30-page complaint to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, claiming cops have shown little interest in the case and barely spoken to her in the last three years.
A senior officer has now told Sheila her son's death "will not be actively investigated further". Detective Chief Superintendent Neil Cochlin wrote: "I am sorry to inform you that the police investigation team has not identified any new lines of enquiry which would assist in providing conclusive answers to what happened to your son at the time of his death.
"Taking into account the substantial information gathered since 2006, there is insufficient evidence to prove that a homicide has occurred. Consequently, the death of Mr Blanco will not be actively investigated further."
Sheila told the Mirror: 'This letter from DCS Neil Cochlin does nothing to restore confidence or trust in the MPS dealings of Mark's murder. Operation Deckertown, as it was named, has been ongoing for almost 19 years. I consider the tone of this letter to be distasteful, dismissive, inaccurate and in part, insulting."
The letter reveals that officers reinterviewed the tenant of the flat, Paul Roundhill, but he provided "no new evidence or insight". Doherty's minder Johnny 'Headlock' Jeannevol told police he had pushed Mark off the balcony but later retracted this, stating he was high on cocaine at the time.
CCTV analyst and FBI instructor Grant Frederick claimed in 2023, based on fresh analysis of footage of the fall, that "there couldn't be just one person on the balcony". He told the Mirror: "What I would see is that Mark has come out and somebody has taken Mark and is putting him over the balcony.
"If the measurements and the distance are correct, then Mark was thrown over the balcony, Mark was murdered." But the Met made contact with Mr Frederick and concluded "this material does not take the investigation further forward".
DCS Cochin's letter adds: "There was no change to the scientific or medical evidence and there was nothing to demonstrate conclusively whether Mr Blanco fell, was pushed or jumped. It was also assessed that it would be difficult to establish that Mr Jeannevol's admissions were reliable ... In summary, no further lines of enquiry have been identified against Mr Jeannevol during the police investigation or by the CPS."
The Sunday Mirror spoke to Mr Jeannevol, 46, outside his East London home in March. When asked what happened to Mark, he said: 'Go and ask Pete.' He later told us: 'If I had done it I would be in prison, someone would be in prison if they had done it. We just saw that he [Mark] had fallen and Pete ran and I followed him because that was my job, to look after Pete.'
In October 2023, a month after the Channel Four documentary aired, Doherty said that he needed to get in touch with Sheila because 'she believes that I killed her son' and the story is 'just not going to go away'. He admitted there was "a bit of friction between us", adding: "We all had an altercation with Marco Blanco. There was pushing and shoving. The next thing he's on the floor and his skull's cracked open."
The documentary included CCTV footage showing Doherty stepping over Mark and fleeing the scene. But he insisted he didn't see what happened and that he fled because he didn't want the "inconvenience" of being caught with class A drugs.
Sheila says Doherty hasn't been in touch, adding: 'I have not been approached by Pete Doherty. Nor was I, or my lawyers, consulted ahead of the publication of his book in 2022. I would prefer if he spoke to the police and the police spoke to him, especially in the light of the new and important evidence from the C4 documentary.'
Retired college lecturer Sheila has enlisted the help of expert lawyer Mike Schwarz, who represents some subpostmasters wrongly accused of stealing in the Horizon IT scandal. In her letter of complaint to the IOPC, she said that the 'police have failed to investigate this offence promptly or seemingly at all' and haven't treated it as 'potential homicide'. Sheila wanted a 'a fresh investigatory team, tasked with a full reinvestigation (so not a simple review) of Mark's death', the letter explained. The IOPC has passed this letter to Scotland Yard for its response.
Detective Chief Superintendent Neil Cochlin told the Mirror: 'There have been numerous police investigations into Mark's death since 2006. Last month we wrote to update Ms Blanco on the case and informed her we have concluded there is no evidence to suggest his death was suspicious.
"We understand this news is upsetting to Ms Blanco and our sympathies remain with her and all those who knew Mark. Although we are no longer actively investigating his death, if further information comes to light it will be assessed to see if there are any viable new lines of enquiry.'
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