Former X Factor star pleads not guilty to influencer murder

A former reality television contestant has pleaded not guilty to murdering a social media influencer after a fatal incident outside a London nightclub earlier this year. Gabrielle Carrington, 29, appeared at the Old Bailey via video link from Bronzefield prison on Monday, August 3, 2026, and denied charges of murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Carrington is accused of striking and killing Klaudia Zakrzewska, a beauty and lifestyle influencer known online as Klaudiaglam, outside the Inca nightclub on Argyll Street in Soho in the early hours of April 19. Zakrzewska, who was in her 30s, died from her injuries in a hospital on April 25. Following her death, prosecutors upgraded the initial attempted murder charge against Carrington to murder.

The defendant also pleaded not guilty to a charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent related to security guard Anoush Chyche, a man in his 50s who prosecutors say suffered life-changing injuries in the same incident. Carrington was not asked to enter a plea on a third charge of driving with excess alcohol. Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC presided over the hearing and remanded Carrington back into custody.