Gabrielle Precious Carrington, a former finalist on the UK's X Factor, has denied murdering a rival influencer and causing grievous bodily harm to a second victim during an alleged road rage incident in London's Soho district in April. Carrington, 29, pleaded not guilty to both charges during a court appearance via videolink from Bronzefield Prison.
The charges stem from an incident on April 19, when police were called to Argyll Street following reports of a car colliding with pedestrians outside Inca nightclub. The victim, Klaudia Zakrzewska, an influencer known as Klaudiaglam, died in hospital six days later on April 25. Prosecutors had initially charged Carrington with attempted murder, but the charge was upgraded following Ms. Zakrzewska's death.
Carrington, who gained fame as part of the girl group Miss Dynamix on The X Factor in 2013, also faces a charge of grievous bodily harm with intent against a second alleged victim, Anoush Chyche, a man in his 50s, who sustained life-changing injuries. A third woman, Latisha Armstrong, was treated for minor injuries. Carrington entered not guilty pleas to these charges as well.
During a previous court hearing, prosecutor Rizwan Amin stated that Carrington and Ms. Zakrzewska had been in an "ongoing dispute." The court heard that after exiting her vehicle, Carrington had an altercation with a male, which escalated to involve several other members of the public. When security attempted to intervene, Carrington reportedly re-entered her car, which then mounted the pavement and struck Ms. Zakrzewska and Mr. Chyche. Ms. Armstrong was also hit by the vehicle.
According to court documents, Carrington allegedly had 61 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, exceeding the legal limit of 35 microgrammes in England. She has also been charged with drink-driving, though she was not asked to enter a plea for this charge.
Carrington, of Broadfield Road in Manchester, appeared in court unrepresented due to an apparent legal aid issue. She is scheduled to go on trial in January and will next appear for an administrative hearing on August 11. The Metropolitan Police have confirmed the incident is not being treated as terror-related. Ms. Zakrzewska had over 250,000 followers on Instagram, while Carrington, also known as RIELLEUK, has amassed 362,000 followers on the platform.