Klaudia Zakrzewska, a 32-year-old beauty influencer known online as Klaudia Glam, died Saturday after spending a week in the hospital following what London's Metropolitan Police described as a collision outside a nightclub in the city's Soho neighborhood. Police said they will upgrade charges against Gabrielle Carrington, a 29-year-old former singer on the British television show "The X Factor," to include murder.
The fatal encounter took place in the early morning hours of April 19. Carrington, who appeared on "The X Factor" in 2013 as part of the girl group "Miss Dynamix," now faces a charge sheet that reads like a catalog of reckless violence: attempted murder, grievous bodily harm with intent, actual bodily harm, dangerous driving, and drunk driving, with a murder count now added after Zakrzewska's death.
The case has drawn wide attention in the UK and beyond, not only because of the participants' public profiles but because of the sheer brazenness of the alleged act, carried out, according to police, with a vehicle on a public street in one of London's busiest entertainment districts.
As the New York Post reported, video from the scene shows Carrington entering the driver's seat of a black Mercedes, driving it into Zakrzewska, and then reversing. The collision did not stop with one victim. A 58-year-old man was also struck and suffered what police called "life-changing injuries." A woman in her 30s identified as Latisha Armstrong sustained minor injuries as well.
Three people hit. One now dead. Another facing permanent consequences. All allegedly at the hands of a single driver outside a nightclub.
Carrington appeared in court after the incident but spoke only to confirm her identity. No defense statement, attorney name, or plea has been publicly reported. She is due back in court on May 19.
Zakrzewska was hospitalized immediately after the April 19 collision. She remained in critical condition for roughly a week before dying Saturday. The Metropolitan Police confirmed her death and announced the charge upgrade in a public statement.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said:
"We would like to express our deepest sympathies to Klaudia's family and friends in light of this tragic update. Our thoughts are also with everyone impacted by this incident."
The statement was measured. The facts behind it are not. A young woman is dead. A middle-aged man faces life-altering injuries. And the person police say caused it all was allegedly behind the wheel of a luxury sedan, reportedly intoxicated, in the middle of a heated clash on a London street.
Zakrzewska built her public identity as Klaudia Glam, a UK-based beauty influencer and model. She was 32 years old. Beyond the online persona, the facts available paint a straightforward picture: a woman who was out in Soho on a spring night and did not come home.
Her alleged attacker, Carrington, had her own brush with fame more than a decade ago. She appeared on "The X Factor" in 2013 as a member of "Miss Dynamix," a girl group formed during the competition. Whatever trajectory her career took after that, it now leads through the British criminal justice system on the most serious charge the law allows.
The initial charges Carrington faced were already severe. Attempted murder. Grievous bodily harm with intent. Actual bodily harm. Dangerous driving. Drunk driving. Each count pointed to a level of alleged conduct that goes well beyond a traffic accident or a momentary lapse in judgment.
Now, with Zakrzewska's death, police said they will add murder to that list. The upgrade reflects the grim arithmetic of the case: what began as a near-fatal collision became a homicide when the victim stopped breathing.
The 58-year-old man who was also struck remains unnamed in public reporting. His condition, described by police only as involving "life-changing injuries", suggests the toll from that night in Soho is far from fully tallied.
Several details remain unclear. The exact name of the nightclub has not been publicly identified. No motive for the alleged attack has been stated by police or prosecutors. Whether Carrington has retained legal counsel, or what defense she may mount, is unknown from available public statements. The identity of the 58-year-old male victim has not been released.
What is known is the sequence: a clash outside a club, a car driven into a crowd, three people struck, one dead, and a former reality television contestant facing a murder charge. The court date is May 19. The consequences are already permanent.
A vehicle is a deadly weapon when someone chooses to use it as one. The law should treat it that way, and in this case, London police appear to agree.
