In December 2006 an ex Cambridge graduate, Mark Blanco, was at a party in Whitechapel, East London. The house has been described, in various newspaper reports and investigations, as a “known crack den” (which the owner denied). Pete Doherty of The Libertines was also there and, although it was described as a party, it seems it was a very small gathering – mostly involving drug taking.

Very grainy CCTV showed Mark on a small communal balcony, before he plunged head first to the ground and died the day after. Several people, including Mr Doherty, stepped over Mark and ran away (shown in the footage) 22 minutes before Police and Paramedics arrived.

No one has ever been charged as the Crown Prosecution Service said, 4 years afterwards, that there was insufficient evidence (having interviewed 3 of the people from the flat, under caution). Despite the Coroner not buying the suicide theory and recording an open verdict.

The Police didn’t process the scene correctly, assumed suicide, ignored a confession (later retracted) and even gave Mark’s mother one of the lenses from Mark’s glasses as a keepsake.

There is a 15-minute video on this BBC Newsnight page, from 2012, showing the footage and talking to the flat owner and a number of people that wanted an investigation re-opening. It includes Video forensics experts that were brought in to examine the footage, to try and determine what happened. The BBC also brought in another Video Forensics expert from America (that works with the FBI) and he said the video was consistent with someone being carried out and dropped over the balcony.

Unfortunately, fast forward to 2024, and a new C4 investigation (47 minutes – here) told how Mark’s mother was STILL trying to get justice for her son. December 2025 and this C4 News Substack (here) is also still trying to raise awareness of the need for a fresh investigation. The Justice for Mark website (here) has links to all the new stories that have been produced over the years.

Fund Raising Gig

Back in 2009 Mark’s friend, Jerry Sadowitz, was trying to help Mark’s mother with her legal fees and organised a fund raiser. Getting Jimmy Carr to headline the gig – it was at the Bloomsbury Theatre in July 2009. This site says it was on the 8^th.

Shutterstock (here) has images of Jimmy, with Mark’s mother, relating to promoting this event.

So, after all that, only fairly tenuous links to Mr C, who, according to The Express, had “crossed paths” with Mark at Cambridge and then, through a mutual friend (Jerry) had met Mark again, years later, at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Having watched the documentaries / press, over the years, I can’t believe that no one has ever been charged with what very much feels like an unsolved murder. RIP Mark.