Cops review fall at Pete party

2007-10-05 12:14

London - Police in London are to review an investigation into the death of an actor, who plunged from a balcony at a party attended by troubled rock star Peter Doherty, they said on Friday.

The move comes after the coroner overseeing the inquest into the death of Mark Blanco, 30, asked detectives to re-examine the evidence.

Blanco died after falling from a second-floor balcony at a party in east London last December.

Doherty, whose literary agent hosted the party, was initially interviewed as a witness in the case. Police at first ruled there had been no "third-party involvement" in Blanco's death.

Coroner Dr Andrew Reid recorded an "open" or inconclusive verdict at the inquest but said he could not draw any "satisfactory inferences" from closed-circuit television evidence about the possible involvement of others.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "I can confirm at the request of the coroner Andrew Reid, police will now review the investigation."

Doherty, the frontman for the band Babyshambles and the one-time boyfriend of supermodel Kate Moss, has fought a public battle with drug addiction that has made more headlines than his music.

- AFP