Running scared?
Death of Mark Blanco , Issue 1652 JUST weeks after Eye 1644 questioned Scotland Yard's reluctance to consider compelling new evidence around the mysterious death of aspiring playwright Mark Blanco at a 2006 gathering attended by singer Pete Doherty, detectives closed the case.

Mark's mother, Sheila Blanco, believes the timing was no coincidence, but she hopes the "disgraceful" decision has at least opened new avenues in her quest for answers.

"The Met has clearly been stringing me along for 19 years, hoping I will go away," she said. "Once Private Eye shone a spotlight back on it, they realised that wasn't going to happen and are running scared. There are still many new and important lines of inquiry they have not explored, and that can only be because it would highlight their multiple failures and cover-ups.

This is not an end; it just moves our campaign on to a different footing."

Partial story
Mark, a Cambridge graduate, had rowed with Doherty and the musician's "bodyguard", Johnny "Headlock" Jeannevol, at a flat in east London just before he plunged from a balcony.

Moments later, Doherty, Jeannevol and a female friend were captured on CCTV running past and leaving him for dead in the street below. Mark was still alive but later died of his head injuries.

Doherty admitted that was cruel but has never apologised or given a full account of what happened, saying his memory from that drug-addled time is not "crystal clear".

The first officers on the scene discounted foul play and did nothing to preserve the potential crime scene. Sheila said they seemed distracted by Doherty's celebrity. One passed her a lens from Mark's broken spectacles in the street where he had landed as a "keepsake".

The coroner ruled out suicide and called for police to reopen the investigation in 2007. In the near two decades since, the Met has poked at the case without any real commitment, refusing to comment on it and saying only that it was "ongoing".

Closed door
After the Eye's article, the Met wrote to Sheila saying it had closed the case, having examined all evidence and concluded Mark's death was not suspicious.

Detective chief superintendent Neil Cochlin said: "We understand this news is upsetting to Ms Blanco. 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."

However, her lawyer Mike Schwarz said: "The Met is misleading in saying it has properly considered all the evidence. Police seem to have decided some time ago not to investigate Mark's death and the letter is an effort, after the event, to justify that decision, a decision which is flawed."

Next steps
Sheila's MP, Zöe Franklin, has now written to home secretary Yvette Cooper asking for a meeting to discuss the case. Sheila plans to challenge the decision under the Victims' Right to Review Scheme and is awaiting the ruling of a detailed complaint to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. She called on Doherty – who is not considered a suspect – to finally clear up what he remembers of her son's final moments.

During a recent Sunday Times interview, the former Libertines frontman became agitated and threatened to tip a glass of water over the journalist when asked about it. He said he would one day tell his young daughter what happened, because he knew "more about it than anyone else".

Sheila said: "If he does, then why won't he tell us all?"