Pete Doherty reveals he’s frustrated by murder speculation over the death of actor Mark Blanco who fell from a balcony at a party 18 years ago as he insists ‘I didn’t kill him’

Pete Doherty has insisted he ‘didn’t kill’ aspiring actor Mark Blanco the night he fell to his death from a balcony.

Mark, 30, fell from a property in Whitechapel, east London, where the Libertines frontman, 45, had attended a party in December 2006.

Rock star Pete has previously denied knowing how Mark died, but admitted he ran from the scene to avoid a run-in with police over drug possession.

And I spoke to Kirsty Young on BBC Radio 4 Young again During the show on Tuesday, Pete insisted he “didn’t kill” the actor and shared his frustration with people who weren’t there and disputed the facts of the night.

“It’s really frustrating for me because the facts are being disputed – but not by anyone who was there,” he said.

‘I didn’t throw him out of a window or off a balcony, I didn’t kill him. What do you want me to say?’

Speaking to Kirsty Young on BBC Radio 4’s Young Again show, Pete (pictured in 2005) said he ‘didn’t kill’ the actor.

CCTV footage from the night in question showed Pete – with girlfriend Kate Russell-Pavier, 19, and his ‘minder’ Jonathan Jeannevol, known locally as ‘Johnny Headlock’ – walking past the body and then running away from the scene.

During a Channel 4 documentary ‘Pete Doherty, Who Killed My Son?’ The dramatic video, which aired in 2023, was watched by Mark’s mother Sheila Blanco.

She said: ‘This is a crucial piece of evidence. I choose not to watch it too often because this is the last time Mark lived. It shows Mark being projected over the railing and then straight down to the bricks and sidewalk below.

‘A few minutes later we see Pete Doherty coming down and stepping over Mark without stopping. And then he appears to pick something up off the ground and run away, followed by Headlock. It is absolutely a callous, reprehensible lack of humanity.”

On Louis Theroux’s podcast, Pete admitted he ran away on the fateful night Mark lost his life.

Although he denied knowledge of how the actor fell or whether he was pushed from the balcony of an east London flat, he described the incident as “shady and screwed up.”

Pete appeared on Louis’ Interview series and opened up about the incident, confessing that he believes Mark’s mother Sheila’s anger was ‘misplaced’.

The rock star, who recently revealed all about his brutal drug addiction in a new documentary, admitted he regretted running away but fled the scene for fear of being arrested for his possession of Class A drugs.

Mark Blanco is pictured with his mother Sheila on his graduation day at Cambridge in June 1997

Pete admitted he ran away the night Mark crashed and described the incident as ‘shady and f***ed up’ during an interview with Louis Theroux (pictured in 2004)

He told the journalist: ‘You can’t blame her. Her son fell to his death and some people honestly believe he was thrown to death. And then I run from the camera.

‘I’ve never met Sheila Blanco, but I can understand her anger. I think her anger at me is misplaced.”

Mark sadly died in hospital from head injuries a day after he was found under the balcony of Pete’s literary agent and friend Paul Roundhill.

‘No one knows what happened because no one saw it. I certainly didn’t see it,” Pete added.

‘I probably should have stuck to my guns, taken a deep breath and had the damn balls to stay there, flush it all down the toilet and be there when the police came.

‘But I didn’t want to see the police. It was a damn inconvenience for me and that’s a horrible thing to say. He’s lying dying in the street and I was afraid I was going to get stolen for possession.’

Pete has put his turbulent past behind him and now lives in Normandy with his partner Katia de Vidas and six-month-old daughter Billie-May.

Pete told the journalist he regretted running away, but he fled the scene for fear of being arrested for his possession of Class A drugs.

Pete has put his turbulent past behind him and now lives in Normandy with his partner Katia de Vidas and six-month-old daughter Billie-May

Speak with NME On Wednesday, Pete said he always wanted to have a family, but never thought it would become a reality for him.

‘I’ve always wanted a close-knit family that I was with and for. I’m also married and settled in a lot of ways I think, maybe I’m wrong.

“I mean, that’s what a lot of people want, right? Real? That kind of nest and a loving environment.

‘I don’t know if I would have dreamed this was possible. I think 2025 seemed very far away at the time, around the turn of the century.