Influencer Klaudia Zakrzewska has sadly passed away at the age of 32, six days after she was involved in an incident outside a London nightclub.
Reports suggest Zakrzewska had been involved in a heated argument with another content creator, Gabrielle Carrington, at Soho's Inca at around 4:30 am on Sunday, April 19. Two others were also hurt in the incident: a 58-year-old man who suffered life-changing injuries and another woman who received a minor wrist injury.
Carrington, 29, who posts under the handle @rielleUK, was a former finalist on The X Factor as part of girl group Miss Dynamix. She appeared in court shortly after the incident, accused of attempted murder, grievous bodily harm with intent, actual bodily harm, dangerous driving and drink driving.
The influencer was held in custody following her appearance at Westminster Magistrates Court. Appearing in the dock, Carrington made a heart sign and confirmed her basic details, but was not asked to plead either guilty or not guilty.
Prosecutor Rizwan Amin said in court, "There has been an ongoing dispute between the parties, and they are known to each other. In the early hours of Sunday morning, the ambulance service and police were called to Argyll Street to reports of a female run over."
"Scenes were described as lots of people shouting and described as a melee, so to speak," the lawyer went on. "Many of the individuals who were there were from a nearby nightclub, including security staff members. Further checks of CCTV showed Ms Carrington had arrived in Argyll Street in her car, which is nearby the Inca nightclub."
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Amin continued to say: "During this time, she seemed to have an altercation with a male as she exited her car. This altercation had escalated, involving several other members of the public and security tried to intervene. Ms Carrington was then seen to re-enter the vehicle on CCTV, which shows her immediately moving off and sharply mounting the pavement."
"During this manoeuvre, the vehicle had struck Ms Klaudia Zakrzewska who was positioned at the front side of the vehicle and was dragged forward and dropped between the vehicle and a metal bike rack. The vehicle continued moving forward. It took her fully underneath the vehicle and at the same time struck a security member of staff, Anoush Chyche, who was on the pavement."
Amin urged that Carrington not be released on bail as she often visits the United Arab Emirates and suggested she could not be trusted to remain in the UK or appear in court when required.
Since Zakrzewska's death, the Metropolitan Police have confirmed that Carrington's attempted murder charge would be amended to murder.
"We would like to express our deepest sympathies to Klaudia's family and friends in light of this tragic update," Det Ch Insp Alison Foxwell said of the news. "Our thoughts are also with everyone impacted by this."
"We recognise that this case has generated significant interest and discussion on social media; however, we would urge the public to refrain from further speculation," Foxwell added.
Meanwhile, on Instagram, condolences have flooded in for Zakrzewska. "Rip angel! I hope you find peace," one person commented on a recent post of hers. "Very sad news," said someone else.
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
