City of London Police are considering appointing a retired judge to assist in a fresh examination of the mysterious death of actor Mark Blanco, who fell from a balcony at a drug-fuelled party in 2006 after a confrontation involving musician Pete Doherty.
A Mother's 19-Year Fight for Justice
Sheila Blanco, the grieving mother of 30-year-old Cambridge graduate Mark, has relentlessly campaigned for a full investigation since her son's death. Her efforts have now prompted the City of London Police to conduct an independent Victims' Right to Review of the case, scrutinising the Metropolitan Police's previous handling of it.
Sheila met with Commander Umer Khan last Friday, describing the force as "open, less defensive and very different" to her past experiences with the Met. "Commander Khan may get a retired judge and others to assist them in their review," she revealed.
New Forensic Claims Challenge Original Findings
The case has been reignited by a 2023 Channel 4 documentary, 'Pete Doherty, Who Killed My Son?', which presented new forensic analysis. An FBI instructor, Grant Fredericks, used 3D and reverse projection on original CCTV, concluding Mark was "thrown over the balcony".
"The reverse projection clearly shows there couldn't be just one person on the balcony," Fredericks stated. "What I would see is that Mark has come out and somebody has taken Mark and is putting him over the balcony... Mark was murdered."
Sheila Blanco asserts the Met ignored this and other expert evidence, including from neurobiology expert Professor Richard Wassersug, who found Mark's head injuries inconsistent with a deliberate jump.
The Night of the Fatal Fall
On the night of December 3, 2006, Mark Blanco attended a party at a flat in Whitechapel, East London. An inquest heard he was involved in a row with Doherty's literary agent, Paul Roundhill, and minder Johnny "Headlock" Jeannevol, leading to him being ejected from the property.
CCTV shows he returned minutes later before falling to his death from a first-floor balcony. The footage also captures Pete Doherty stepping over Mark's body and fleeing the scene with Jeannevol.
Jeannevol, now 46, previously confessed to police that he pushed Mark off the balcony but later retracted the statement, saying he was high on cocaine. He was released without charge. Doherty has denied any knowledge of how Mark died but admitted running away to avoid police over drug possession.
A coroner rejected the Met's initial suggestion of suicide. Commander Umer Khan confirmed the review is in its scoping phase, awaiting further information before a final decision. The Metropolitan Police stated the review is ongoing and they will not comment further.
