'VICTIM WAS THROWN OFF'

FBI expert: Balcony death after Doherty bust-up was murder

- TOM PETTIFOR

MARK Blanco's mum Sheila has faced a 17-year battle for justice since her son's death at a party with Pete Doherty and his pals.

The 30-year-old fell from the second floor balcony of a block of flats after a row with the Babyshambles star in December 2006 and the case remains unresolved.

But an FBI expert now claims Mark was probably murdered.

An inquest heard Mark had been kicked out of the "crack den" flat, after urging Doherty to come and watch him on stage, by the singer's literary agent Paul Roundhill and minder Johnny "Headlock" Jeannevol. Mark returned two minutes later before he then somehow fell to his death.

Police investigated but there have been no charges. They suggested the Cambridge graduate's death was suicide, which a coroner rejected.

The case features in a new Channel 4 documentary. Pete Doherty, Who Killed My Son? tells of Sheila's fight for justice following the initial failed police investigation.

CCTV analyst and FBI instructor Grant Frederick has examined footage of the fall. He used 3D and reverse projection, overlaying new film on the original images, to "step back in time".