Louella Michie court case: Friend told boyfriend 'fam, just act like you don't know her' as woman was dying of drug overdose at Bestival
Emotional day in court ends after family recount hearing news of daughter's death
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The family of a woman who was filmed as she died from a drug overdose at a music festival have given evidence at the trial of the man accused of her manslaugher.
Louella Fletcher-Michie, 24, daughter of Holby City actor John Michie, died after taking the Class A party drug 2-CP at the Dorset music festival Bestival on 11 September 2017.
Ceon Broughton, 29, from Enfield in north London, denies the charge and another of supplying the drug to Fletcher-Michie.
Ms Fletcher-Michie's mother Carol was among those giving evidence at Winchester Crown Court on Thursday.
In a 50-minute video shown to the court on Wednesday, Fletcher-Michie was seen shouting: “This is the best trip I have ever f***ing had.”
Mr Broughton ignored subsequent pleas from her family to seek help and continued to film even after she was dead, jurors at Winchester Crown Court heard.
Jurors were told Fletcher-Michie’s mother eventually contacted Mr Broughton at 6.48pm and heard her daughter “screeching” in the background.
She “dropped everything” and travelled with Mr Michie to the festival site at Lulworth Castle, the court heard.
Fletcher-Michie was found dead by security at around 1am on 11 September 2017 after Mr Broughton left her to seek help, the court was told.
Read below for the developments as they unfolded.
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At the festival site, the court heard, Ms Fletcher-Michie and her husband were refused entry by staff.
"They probably thought, 'here are some hysterical parents. There are 30,000 people here. They have all taken drugs.'"
But Ms Fletcher-Michied added: "We have always expected our kids to be sensible; do what they do but with sense."
Eventually, Ms Fletcher-Michie said, she caught sight of Broughton.
As Broughton was escorted by festival staff, Ms Fletcher-Michie told the jury, "There seemed no urgency."
"I was freaking out because he was on his own," she added. "I was saying, 'You've left her, you've left her.'
"He said, 'I put my coat on her', or something, and they [the festival staff] just scooped him out of the way."
Under cross-examination by Stephen Kamlish QC, defending, Ms Fletcher-Michie says that when she spoke to Broughton over the phone at 7pm, she thought he really believed he could calm Louella down.
She said: "I am sure that at that moment, he would expect her to calm down and be OK.
"That's what I thought as well."
But, she added, what she heard over the phone, "Was enough for me to get in the car"
Seven weeks after her daughter's death, the court heard, Ms Fletcher-Michie met Broughton in the street in north London.
The court heard he told her, 'I tried everything. If I could change it, I would."
Ms Fletcher-Michie told the jury: "I wanted to believe it."
She said that Broughton told her had taken "the same thing" as her daughter.
She added: "I was aware he didn't say he gave it to her. But he didn't say 'I have no idea what she took and I didn't give it to her' either."
Holby City actor John Michie, 62, Louella's father, has been called to the witness stand.
He confirms he was at home with other members of his family when his wife received a call from Broughton, they were cut off, so they phoned back.
The phone was on loudspeaker
He says: "The thing I most remember was that Louella seemed very distressed. I could hear her in the background.
"I have never heard her speak in that way. It almost didn't sound like her. We knew she was very, very distressed."
Broughton, he added, sounded "watery and distant".
Mr Michie added: "The tone of his voice was slow, didn't seem to be concerned, and I thought, obviously, any normal person would be concerned. He didn't seem to me he was very compus mentis at the time."
"I heard later," Mr Michie said, "That he had described her as 'a bit of a drama queen,' which was pretty hurtful."