The Rest Is Silence

Indie :

When Charlene Downes disappeared from her Blackpool home in the winter of 2003, her mother, Karen, put her faith in the police to find the 14-year-old.

Six years later, there is still no trace of the girl, who is now presumed murdered. Yet despite a lengthy investigation and a Crown Court trial, no one has been convicted of killing the teenager. And, because of a litany of mistakes by detectives investigating the case, it is now unlikely anyone ever will be.

Yesterday, the police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) ruled that covert surveillance evidence gathered against the two main suspects in the case was flawed. This means that the evidence can never be submitted in court.

The IPCC said that Lancashire Constabulary's investigation was "handled poorly and unprofessionally" and that the evidence contained a "catalogue of errors which undermined the court case". Seven detectives will be disciplined.

Karen Downes has given up all hope of justice for her daughter. "Whoever killed Charlene must be laughing their heads off," she said. "I feel really let down that the police put us through this trauma when they must have known there were problems with the evidence. To me this just means they will never catch who killed my daughter. They've got no evidence at all now, have they?"

The IPCC report relates to the May 2007 trial of Iyad Albattikhi, who was charged with murdering Charlene, and Mohammed Raveshi, who was charged with helping Mr Albattikhi dispose of the body.

During the trial, the jury was played taped conversations in which Mr Albattikhi, who ran a takeaway restaurant in the seaside town, joked that he killed the girl, that she was "chopped up" and her body had "gone in the kebabs". In another excerpt, he said: "I killed her, I killed a girl ... I was just angry." His co-accused was heard on the tapes saying: "There is nothing left of her. She was here, she died, there really is nothing."

The jury failed to reach a verdict. A retrial was set for April 2008. However, while preparing for the second trial, senior police officers raised issues with the surveillance evidence, much of which had been obtained by a police informant, David Cassidy, who had worn a wire-tap device when speaking to Mr Albattikhi and Mr Raveshi.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was notified, as was the IPCC. The second trial was abandoned when the CPS offered no evidence against the men. Mr Albattikhi and Mr Raveshi, who say they have never met Charlene, were released.

Yesterday, after an 18-month investigation, the IPCC revealed that the flaws in the evidence included the fact that much of the recorded tape and video evidence was not properly transcribed, that the officers working on the investigation were "inexperienced and untrained" and that the informant, Mr Cassidy, was not properly briefed and so therefore asked the suspects leading questions.

One officer will face a disciplinary hearing, one has received a written warning and five will be given words of advice. Two other detectives retired before the investigation was completed and so cannot now be dealt with by the IPCC. A 10th, who has also retired but is still employed in a civilian capacity, will have his position considered.

Naseem Malik, the IPCC commissioner for the North-west, said: "Six years since the disappearance of Charlene, her parents are no nearer to knowing what happened to their daughter. I cannot imagine how distressing this must be for them. The failings in Lancashire Constabulary's investigation can only have compounded that distress. Lessons must be learned ... to ensure such failures cannot happen again."

The disappearance of Charlene, who would be aged 20 now, exposed a dark side to Blackpool's holiday resort image. During the trial, the court heard that Charlene was one of a number of girls who frequented local takeaways and performed sex acts on male employees in exchange for food and cigarettes.

The tragedy has also taken its toll on the Downes family. A week after the trial collapsed, Karen Downes was arrested for stabbing her husband, Robert, during an argument. He did not press charges, saying he understood his wife lashed out because of grief and distress.

Last month, Charlene's older sister Emma, 24, went on trial for racially assaulting Iyad Albattikhi's brother, Tariq, at a nightclub. The charge was dropped when she admitted a lesser charge of common assault, accepting she slapped the man once. She was stopped from doing so a second time when he grabbed her hand and told her: "It's got nothing to do with me."

Karen Downes is still angry. She has criticised the police for not doing enough to find her daughter, saying that Charlene's working-class upbringing meant that her disappearance was not taken seriously.

"I often wonder," her mother says, "if she had been from a posh family and was having piano lessons, would they have tried harder to find her?"

Even yesterday's announcement that the police officers whose conduct during the investigation effectively scuppered any hope of a prosecution will be disciplined has not sated her anger.

She told The Independent: "I have only just come to terms with the fact that Charlene is dead. It's very hard to accept, but I know deep down that she must be dead because she would have been back by now if she wasn't.

"I've been told I'll get an apology from the police but I don't want them to say sorry. An apology is not going to find my daughter. The fact that some police officers will be punished is no consolation. I want to know what the police plan to do now. But I know the answer: nothing. There is nothing they can do. Unless they find her body and it has DNA or some sort of forensic evidence, there is no way they will be able to convict anyone now."

God rest her soul. Other posts on the Charlene Downes murder here.

Charlene Downes - Accused Cleared on Judge's Instructions

It appears that

a) the evidence wasn't strong enough - something that looked increasingly apparent as the first trial went on. No body, no forensics

b) some of the evidence may have been from an unreliable source - you do have the problem that in these sort of cases, few of the witnesses will necesarily be pillars of their local church or well-known for their charitable activity

c) some of the police work may not have been top-grade

The police investigation continues.

The Way We Live Now

Remember the Charlene Downes murder trial ? The 14 year old alleged to have been chopped up and kebabbed ? The jury couldn't come to any verdict against Iyad Albattikhi, accused of murder, or Mohammed Reveshi, accused of the disposal of her body, so the last I heard was a retrial.

At the time of the first trial the kebab shop in question, the Funny Boyz takaway, had its license revoked. The current owner has successfully apppealed against that decision.

Shortly after, there was a visit on the 3rd December 2005 by Mr Shaw and PC Ross who did not give evidence today. Mr Shaw noted two baseball bats behind the service counter. I am convinced what the bats were there for. The baseball bats were in the premises for one reason only – protection. While it may be understandable, it is nevertheless wrong. Such weapons should not be there.

A visit by Mr Shaw on the 10th December 2005 with PC Berry led to the confiscation of a bent claw hammer. Evidence had been given that the claw hammer had been used by the electrician – a legitimate purpose. I don’t accept the explanation; it was behind the counter for the same reason as the baseball bats.

The next visit was in the early hours of New Years Day. Sgt Hurt and PC Ross visited the premises that were open and trading even though the licence only permitted sales until 03.30. The Police had advised takeaways not to admit persons for 15 minutes prior to closing to enable the sales to be completed before the end of the permitted hours. A summons was issued and a trial is pending. The premises were open after they should have been and the appellant does not dispute that. On this occasion, Sgt Hurt, with a view to obtaining evidence, sought to confiscate the till roll. I am satisfied that Tariq Albattikih was uncooperative to the point of being hostile. It may be that he didn’t understand the power the Police had and it took some time for the Police to obtain the roll.

Two points - one being the little vignette of what are doubtless the issues faced when running a late-night takeaway in this gentler, more caring society. Everyone agrees it's "understandable" - but apparently it's also "wrong" to be able to defend yourself and your premises unless yiou can do it bare-handed.

The other is the alleged rape which apparently Iyad Albattikhi was also charged with. Is that anything to do with the Charlene Downes murder case, or is it a seperate issue ?

Charlene Downes Update

As not seen in Wikipedia.

Blackburn Citizen 11/6/7

A MURDER trial jury has heard how police installed secret recording equipment at the home of a man accused of helping to dispose of a schoolgirl's body. Charlene Downes, 14, from Blackpool, disappeared in November 2003 and Blackburn man Iyad Albattikhi, 30, the boss of Funny Boyz takeaway, Dickson Road, in the resort at the time, denies murder.

Mohammed Reveshi, 55, is accused of assisting an offender. Preston Crown Court was told that as well as at his home, a Fiat people carrier vehicle owned by Raveshi was also bugged. The covert recording devices picked up conversations between the defendants and others between late February and late March 2005. The devices were placed in the Hornby Road flat in Blackpool and vehicle belonging to Reveshi. Detective Sergeant Jan Beasant told the court how police used a total of 52 digital audio tapes during the covert surveillance. Twenty-four hour round-the-clock surveillance took place at a room in Blackpool police station. Det Sgt Beasant had sole responsibility for the recordings and later went through all of the tapes to ascertain the nature of the conversations.

The officer said the conversations were mixed. Some included talk about business premises, but there was quite a lot in relation to the police inquiry. Passages from the tapes are to be played to the jury, over a system at court.

The court has been told that Albattikh was said to have lived in Blackburn at the time Charlene disappeared and commuted to Blackpool to run the takeaway.


Blackpool Gazette 2/7/7

A CHIP shop owner told a murder trial he was "gobsmacked" after hearing a missing Blackpool teenager had been murdered. A clearly distressed Michael Kearns took to the witness stand at the murder trial of Charlene Downes and told the jury of his "total shock" at being told a fellow takeaway owner had allegedly killed the youngster.
The 14-year-old disappeared from her home on Buchanan Street in Blackpool in November 2003 and has never been seen since. Mr Kearns owned the Moby Dick takeaway, next to Funny Boyz, which was owned by Iyad Albattikhi – the accused. Albattikhi, 29, of Dickson Road, denies killing the teenager while Mohammed Reveshi, 50, denies disposing of her body.

Mr Kearns told the court he was told of the murder by another witness, David Cassidy, who had earlier told the jury he was told of the killing by Albattikhi's brother, Tariq. Under cross examination from prosecution barrister Tim Holroyde QC, Mr Kearns said: "Mr Cassidy came into my shop one night and told me there was something he had to tell me that was really serious. He said Tariq broke down and that his brother had murdered a girl and had chopped her up in the kitchen. I could tell by Mr Cassidy's body language he was deadly serious. I was totally gobsmacked. It took me back. I can't actually recall what I said to him. I asked him the question where it had happened and Mr Cassidy said he did not know."

The witness, who has lived in Blackpool for 20 years, said he knew Iyad Albattikhi – who was known to him as Eddie – and a few members of staff at Funny Boyz. John Bromley-Davenport QC, defending for Reveshi, asked Mr Kearns if Mr Cassidy told him that Jordanian men had been using Charlene "for sexual purposes". Mr Kearns replied: "He did say that, yes."

Earlier, the court heard Mr Cassidy, a former work colleague of Albattikhi and Reveshi, denied he was trying to set up the two defendants by telling a "pack of lies". Mr Holroyde asked Mr Cassidy if he had it in for either of the defendants.
Mr Cassidy replied: "I don't have it in for Eddie. I did not tell lies to the jury or to the police."

Miss Downes was last seen by her mother Karen on the night of November 1, 2003, who kissed her and said goodbye. Despite a massive police investigation her body has never been found. The prosecution alleges Jordanian-born Albattikhi had a sexual relationship with the teenager and murdered her before Iranian-born Reveshi disposed of her body.

(Proceeding)

Daily Mail 31/5/7

A mother ran from court today as she heard how her daughter was strangled before being chopped up.

Iyad Albattikhi, 29, known as Eddie, had sex with 14-year-old Charlene Downes, before killing her and joking her body had been put into the kebabs at his shop on Blackpool Promenade, Preston Crown Court has heard.

Today David Cassidy, a former friend of the accused, told Preston Crown Court how the defendant's brother confessed to him about the murder - and that the youngster had been throttled to death. Mr Cassidy, 40, who ran an amusement arcade in the town, told the jury Tariq Albattikhi had rowed with his brother and, upset and in tears, told him about how the schoolgirl had been killed. "He was crying," Mr Cassidy said. "He said there was a lot of blood. I was only getting a bit of the conversation through the tears. "He told me that she was strangled." At this point Charlene's mother, Karen Downes, sitting in the public gallery, gasped and fled the court in tears.

Charlene, from Buchanan Street in Blackpool, disappeared on November 1, 2003, after kissing her mother goodbye to go off with friends. Expelled from school, she spent most of her time hanging around the shops on the Prom, where Albattikhi owned and ran Funny Boyz kebab shop. A missing persons inquiry began after she vanished but police later launched a murder investigation after information "leaked out".

No trace of Charlene's body has ever been found. Albattikhi, a Jordanian immigrant, is charged with murder and his co-accused, his business partner and landlord, Mohammed Reveshi, 50, originally from Iran, is accused of helping to dispose of the body.

Both deny the charges and have told police they never knew Charlene. Ian Goldrein QC, defending Albattikhi suggested Mr Cassidy was telling the court a "pack of lies" and suggested the conversation never took place. He said the witness had a long criminal record for dishonesty stretching back to the age of 17 - and could not be relied upon to tell the truth. Mr Goldrein asked the witness why he waited months after the conversation with Tariq before he told police. Mr Cassidy said, "Because I did not know if what was being said to me that night was true. I had to determine whether it was hearsay or gossip." The trial continues.

Blackpool Gazette 31/5/7

A TAKEAWAY owner accused of murdering Blackpool teenager Charlene Downes gave food away to girls who "had pretty faces and short skirts." Witnesses say Iyad Albattikhi knew Charlene who disappeared in November 2003. Despite a massive police search the 14-year-old from Buchanan Street has never been seen or heard of since.

Witness Kimberley Stratfull told a jury at Preston Crown Court Albattikhi - who owned the Funny Boyz takeaway on Dickson Road and was known by the name "Eddie" - used to give away free food to "anyone he took a fancy to". Under cross examination from prosecution barrister Tim Holroyde QC, Miss Stratfull, who worked at Funny Boyz, said: "Charlene used to get free food from the shop. "Eddie used to give free food to girls who had pretty faces and short skirts. He used to do it all the time to girls he liked the look of."

Albattihki, 29, is accused of murder, while co-defendent, Mohammed Reveshi, 50, is charged with disposing of Charelene's body. Earlier in the trial, a witness said she saw Charlene and another girl, Dawn Turner, get into a number of different cars outside takeaways.

Miss Turner told the court she considered Charlene to be her best friend and often went to visit takeaway workers at an alleyway at the rear of Talbot Road. She said: "We went there between 5pm and 7pm quite a few times. "We used to get free food from the people who worked there. We also used to hang around the arcades too." But when prompted by defence barrister, Ian Goldrein QC, about a statement she made in November 2003, she admitted she vaguely remembered saying Charlene used "to snog some of the takeaway owners" and gave them sexual favours in return for free food.
Miss Turner also told the jury she and Miss Downes were friendly with a number of Asian men in the area, one of who was Albattikhi.

Witness Cheryl Sutcliffe, who used to work at Funny Boyz, told the court that she remembered seeing Charlene in the takeaway, but never saw her speaking to Albattikhi.
Kirsty Fletcher, who worked at Heat takeaway, on Church Street in Blackpool, told the court Albattikhi was present at a conversation where people were laughing at what had allegedly happened to Miss Downes. She said: "They were making a joke about her (Charlene). There were nasty comments about her and something about kebab meat.
"Eddie made lots of sexual comments about her saying she was small and kinky and little. "They were talking about having sex with white girls." Tim Holroyde QC, prosecuting, asked Miss Fletcher who was present at this conversation, which took place in the office above the Heat take-away. She replied: "Yes, Eddie was there."

The prosecution alleges Albattikhi of Dickson Road befriended Charlene before killing her on the night, or days after, her disappearance. Reveshi of Hornby Road, Blackpool, is alleged to have disposed of her body. Both men deny the allegations.
(Proceeding)

"Charlene Downes was not even from a decent or important family"

The murder trial opened today.

A schoolgirl was murdered by a fast food shop owner who joked that she had been "chopped up" and had gone into the kebabs, a court heard today. Charlene Downes, 14, was killed by former Blackburn man Iyad Albattikhi, 29, owner of Funny Boyz fast food shop in Blackpool, who it is alleged had sex with the youngster he described as "kinky", Preston Crown Court was told.

Charlene was one a number of young white girls who went to to have sex with older men who worked in the fast food shops, Tim Holroyde QC, prosecuting, told the jury. Charlene, from Buchanan Street in Blackpool, was "well and happy", the court heard, but her home life was "chaotic".

Expelled from school, she spent her time hanging around shops on the Blackpool Promenade, and was last seen on the early evening of Saturday November 1 2003. After kissing her mother goodbye she went off on her own - and "vanished off the face of the earth", Mr Holroyde said.

A missing persons inquiry began but police later launched a murder investigation after information "leaked out" that the girl had been "killed and chopped up", the court heard. No trace of Charlene's body has ever been found.

Strangely, 24dash.com has a large amount of irrelevant detail that the BBC doesn't think we need to know. Poor Charlene sounds a bit of a Mary-Anne Leneghan.

Charlene became a "familiar figure" hanging around the shops where she would sometimes get free food.

"In addition," Mr Holroyde said, "she was one of a number of adolescent white girls who sometimes went at night to the alleyway behind the restaurants which they called by the unflattering name, Paki Alley. "She and others went there to meet much older men from the restaurants, and it seems perfectly clear that there was at times some sexual activity."

Another everyday story of underclass folk. And that's just what the accused think, too.

In one tape, Reveshi speaks of his "surprise" that the police were bothering to investigate because "Charlene Downes was not even from a decent or important family".

Albattikhi is heard to say: "For some f****** bitch. She was a f****** Maiiah. A f****** horrible Maiiah."

Mr Holroyde said police had not discovered what "Maiiah" meant but it was a contemptuous reference to the dead girl.

In another tape, Reveshi said the words "eat the body", the court was told.

"That remark is said in a joking tone of voice, but it is extraordinary, is it not, for a man who claims to have had no knowledge of Charlene Downes to be talking in that way of her body being eaten," Mr Holroyde added.

Albattikhi is heard on one tape saying, "If they find anything I have f****** had it."


The trial continues. My money's on an acquittal for lack of evidence. Anybody up on Arabic/street slang who can translate 'Miah/Myah' ?

Damn Foreigners ...

Coming over here and eating our women ...

not to mention their own ...





Elsewhere another hard-working professional comes to England to do the jobs the locals don't want to do ...

"Victor Dembovskis raped and stabbed to death Jeshma Raithatha in Sudbury Hill, west London, jurors heard.

The court heard he had twice been convicted of raping women at knifepoint in Latvia in 1990 and 1999."

I wonder if he used the same application form as Andrezej Kunowski ?