October 27, 2025 • 47 mins
Blackpool is a town built on lights and laughter, a place where families once came for the arcades, the tower, the sea air. On a cold night after Halloween 2003, 14-year-old Charlene Downes set off through the town centre and didn’t come home. The posters went up, the cameras were checked, and then the rumours began. What followed would expose something far darker than a missing-persons case.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
My daughter has been their returned alder shame for dream.
For over one hundred and fifty years, Blackpool has been
(00:54):
Britain's playground by the sea. What started as a modest
Victorian resort on the Lancashire coast grew into something uniquely British.
It was a place where working class families could escape
their factories in terrace streets for a week of sea
air and entertainment. In By two thousand and three, Blackpool
was adapting to change package holidays to Spain and Beyond
(01:17):
attempted many people away, leaving britain seaside resorts to fight
for their place, but still Blackpool injured. That year, Halloween
fell on a Sunday. Blackpool embraced the occasion with its
usual flare shot windows displayed plastic skeletons and artificial cobwebs.
Pumpkins sat carved and glowing, and pubs organized Halloween Knights
(01:39):
to entice locals and tourists alike. The winter gardens hosted
large themed parties and the streets filled with costumed revelers.
For a weekend, Blackpool was alive, with people moving between venues,
their voices carrying above the noise of the arcades and
the seafront. But by the following a Monday, the first
(02:01):
of November, the atmosphere had shifted. The celebrations were over
and the town returned to its quieter off season rhythm.
Decorations still clung to shop windows, but the crowds had thinned.
It was a work night and the streets were noticeably calmer.
That night, a teenage girl made her way into Blackpool's
(02:23):
town Center. She walked past the familiar outline of the
tar and through streets she knew well, passing shop fronts
still dotted with Halloween displays. Security cameras picked her up
at points along the way, recording her movements in short
fragments of grainny footage, but the cameras didn't capture everything.
(02:45):
They showed her journey into the town Center, but not
the journey home. Somewhere beyond the Golden Mile, in the
maze of streets that fan out from the seafront, she
disappeared a work light when she went up with the
friend and I'm not se quiz. Can I give you
a discripch in place? She's got a shoulder out, dark
(03:07):
brown hair with a fringe. She's got a fringe and
what was she wearing? The black young per aunt were
like white diamonds on the young hair what she called Charlie.
Charlie Dan Charlene Downes was born in Coventry on the
(03:41):
twenty fifth of March nineteen eighty nine. Her early childhood
was spent in the Midlands, where her mother Karen, stayed
at home to care for Charlene and her siblings, brother
and two sisters. Her father, Robert, was a former soldier
who had served in the army before settling into civilian life.
He picked up various jobs, at one point working as
(04:03):
a door man to support the family. When Charlene was
ten years old, the family decided to move to Blackpool,
settling into a terraced house on Buchanan Street. It was
only a short walk from the north here, close enough
to hear the sounds of the town center, but just
far enough removed to maintain the quieter pace of residential life.
(04:25):
By two thousand and three, the household on Buchanan Street
included Charlene's parents, her sister Becky, and her grandmother Jesse.
At fourteen, Charlene was a student at Saint George's High
School in Marton navigating the difficult years between childhood and adulthood.
Like many teenagers in Blackpool, Charlene was drawn to the
town center, the Golden Mile, the shops, the arcades. It
(04:49):
was a place that felt bigger and more exciting than
the quiet streets where she lived, a place where she
could feel independent. Friends described Charlene as outgoing and sociable,
somebody who made friends easily and was always comfortable talking
to new people. She was funny, loyal, and protective of
those that she cared about. Her mother described her as
(05:10):
a bubbly girl who liked to laugh, west life and fashion.
But Charlene's home life wasn't without its challenges. The family
had been known to social services in Coventry and Walsall
due to child protection concerns. In Blackpool, agencies logged reports
of violence in the home, lack of supervision, and incidents
(05:31):
that raised concerns about potential sexual exploitation. Charlene herself was
in a difficult stage. She'd been expelled from school and
was trying to find her footing, no longer a child
but not quite an adult. In the months leading up
to November of two thousand and three, her family noticed
she seemed to be growing up quickly. She was more
(05:53):
focused on her clothes and appearance, and she often spoke
about older friends. It was a familiar your teenage mix
of one thing to be seen as a mature whilst
still being very much a child at home. Her sister
Becky would later reflect on how close they were. I
was involved in a car crash when I was nine
(06:14):
and ended up on a live support machine. When I
came out of the comb I couldn't even tie my
own shoelaces, but Charlene did everything for me. She was
so caring she helped me recover. On the first of
November two thousand and three, the day after Halloween, Charlene
dressed in a black jumper with white diamonds and black
trousers with sequins and three stripes at the bottom. She
(06:37):
and Becky headed into town for some shopping before stopping
at McDonald's for dinner. At around six forty five pm,
the sisters bummed into their mother, Karen, on Church Street.
Karen was handing out fliers for an Indian restaurant where
she worked. They chatted briefly before Becky said that she
was heading home. Charlene's she was going to meet friends
(07:02):
Natalie and Natasha. She used a nearby phone box to
call them and then waited with her mother until they arrived.
Karen watched on as Charlene and her friends walked towards
the Winter gardens. It was the last time she saw
her daughter. When Karen returned home from work that night,
(07:23):
Charlene wasn't there. She had a curfew of ten pm,
but the hours passed with no sign of her. Karen
began calling her on Charlene's friends, but nobody had seen her.
As the night wore on, the absence became more alarming.
What had started as a normal evening in town was
now the beginning of a search that would consume not
(07:45):
only her family, but the entire town. After Charlene Downs
was reported missing, the search for her began. More than
thirty officers were assigned to the case, and police appealed
to the public for their help. In those early days,
(08:07):
they said it was possible that Charlene was sleeping rough
or staying with friends jut connections crossed different parts of town,
but it was still unusual for her to remain out
of touch for so long. Charlene's mother recalled one instance
where she went missing before, around two years earlier. She
said she had spent four days in Wolverhampton before returning home.
(08:32):
According to Karen, however, she didn't believe her daughter was
staying with friends. Nobody had seen her since the day
after Halloween and nobody had heard from her. Inspector Addie
Thistlewaite addressed the press, dating we're growing concern for Charlene's
health and well being as it's out of character for
her to go missing for this length of time. We
(08:55):
would like to stress that she isn't in trouble and
just want to know that she's safe. We would appeal
to anybody for any information about her whereabouts or for
Charlene herself to contact police. As the investigation unfolded, friends
provided insight into her movements. On the night she was
last seen, Charline had spent part of her evening at
(09:16):
the Winter Gardens with her friends Natalie and Natasha. At
around nine p m. They said their goodbyes. Natalie and
Natasha were babysitting for her friend and Charlene told them
that she was going home, but she wasn't. Instead, she
met up with another friend and together they went to
the carousel bar on the North Pier. They stayed there
(09:38):
until around ten p m before leaving and walking towards
Talbot Road. According to this friend, they parted ways at
around eleven p m. With this information, police began scoring
CCTV footage from around the town center. They soon located
a girl they believed to be Charlene, seen around nine
p m on the junction of Dixon Road and Talbot Road.
(10:01):
The footage shooter hanging around the alleyway that runs between
the shops, an area laned mostly with fast food takeaways,
but after that the trail went cold. As weeks turned
two months, police continued to appeal for information. Charlene's family
also spoke publicly. Her mother Karen, made a heartfelt play,
(10:23):
I can't understand why Charlene hasn't been in touch. The
pain is unbearable. It's breaking my heart not knowing where
she is. If Charlene reads or hears my appeal, I
want her to know how much I miss and love her.
Her father, Robert, echoed the same fears. The stress of
not knowing where her beloved daughter is or whether she's
in any danger is becoming unbearable. Detectives chased every possible lead.
(10:49):
They visited Charlene's friends in Oldham, Denton and Wolverhampton. They
conducted door to door inquiries across Blackpool and beyond, and
were even assisted by the National Missing Person's Helpline, but
nobody had seen or heard from Charlene since the night
she vanished. In an effort to generate new Leeds police
reliefed a picture of jeanes that were identical with the
(11:11):
pair Charlene was wearing when she vanished. By January, a
new missing person poster was distributed to every police station
in the country. A small number of sidings were reported
from different areas, but each one was investigated and ultimately
ruled out. Charlene's trail, it seemed, had vanished into thin air.
(11:39):
In May of two thousand and four, six months after
Charlene went missing, detectives took an unusual step. They started
DNA's testing male volunteers in the area. Detective Inspector Tony
Harling explained, it may seem unusual to begin forensic testing
in cases such as this where we have turned up
no evidence from the missing person. It's not standard practice,
(12:02):
but we decided to act on information gained from interviews
with the number of Charlene's known associates. Those interviews with
Charlene's friends revealed something deeply troubling. They told police that
Charlene had been having sex with foreign men who owned
or worked at local takeaways. But Charlene was only fourteen
(12:24):
years old. The reality was that she was being groomed
and exploited, and she wasn't the only one. According to
one detective, she was one of a number of adolescent
white girls who sometimes went at night to the alleyways
behind the restaurants. Here, these girls exchanged sex for goods.
(12:46):
Charlene and her friends even had a ra assistant derogatory
named for it, Packy Alley. It was where they went
when they were hungry, needed cigarettes, alcohol, or just some
credit for their mobile phones. One of Charlene's friends later
described how it started. They were older than you, and
you thought they were your friends. It all seemed so
(13:08):
glamorous and exciting. Young girls were drawn to the flash cars,
the money, the alcohol, free food, sometimes drugs, but the
glamor quickly faded. The investigation uncovered a pattern of systematic exploitation.
Vulnerable girls, some as young as eleven, were being targeted
(13:28):
by men working in Blackpool's fast food outlets. They were
offered food, alcohol, or small amounts of money in exchange
for sexual acts. Police later described these takeaways as honeypot locations,
places where predators could easily identify and exploit vulnerable teenagers.
(13:50):
One of Charlene's friends remembered a man who would offer
her drugs, saying they would loosen her up. She said
he made her flesh crawl. Another man constantly propositioned young girls,
all while insulting them, calling white girls flags and comparing
them unfavorably to Muslim women, who he said walked five
(14:12):
steps behind their husbands. The scale of abuse was staggering.
Police believed at least sixty girls had been caught up
in the network. A later report concluded young people were
being abused and assaulted both inside and outside of premises
by a number of takeaway owners and workers. The wider
(14:33):
environment made Blackpool particularly vulnerable to this kind of exploitation.
The town had high levels of poverty and cheap short
term housing that meant people were constantly moving in and
moving out. By the early two thousands, Blackpool ranked as
the twelfth poorest area in the country. Around sixteen percent
(14:54):
of children on the town's Child Protection Register were considered
at risk of abuse, nearly doubled the national average. Add
that to the fact that Blackpool had always drawn in
runaway children attracted by the bright lights of the Seaside Horn,
and it created the perfect condition for predators. Charlene's disappearance
had exposed what was believed to be one of the
(15:16):
first grooming networks identified in Britain on this scale. It
had been hiding in plain sight. See mcgurty, who coordinated
Mothers if sexually abused children, wasn't surprised. She commented, there
have always been shocking levels of abuse of children in
this town, but before Charlene Downes went missing, it was
completely swept onto the carpet. In response, police formed a
(15:40):
dedicated task force, Project Awaken, set up specifically to tackle
child sexual exploitation in Blackpool, and detectives began to wonder
if Charlene herself had been forced into sex work. Over
the course of the investigation, more than three thousand men
were DNA tested, but nothing ever came of these tests,
(16:04):
and Charlene remained missing. The first anniversary of her disappearance
came and went, then the second, her family were left
trying to piece together their lives without knowing what had
happened to their daughter. Every so often someone was sure
they'd seen her in Manchester, in a Burger king in London,
but each sighting was investigated and each was ruled out.
(16:28):
Theories circulated. Some people believed that Charlene had simply run away,
others thought she must have been sold into sex trafficking,
and many were convinced that she was dead. At the
two year anniversary, Detective Superintendent Paul Basheney made it clear
that the case was still a priority. He stated, it
(16:49):
doesn't matter how many cases were working on. She has
an incident room all of her own and there are
officers working on her case who have been with it
from day one. In the early hours of the seventh
of March two thousand and six, police moved in. Officers
(17:10):
surrounded two flats, one in Blackpool, the other in nearby Fleetwood.
They waited in the darkness until the order came. Doors
were smashed open and two men were arrested. Twenty eight
year old he At Albaateak and forty nine year old
Mohammed Ravishi Albataki, who was originally from Jordan, owned a
(17:32):
fast food shop in Blackpool called Funny Boys. Ravichi, who
was born in Iran, was a former army sergeant. He
was also Abataki's business partner and also his landlord. Charlene
had been a familiar face at Funny Boys when other
teenagers were in school. She was often seen hanging around
(17:55):
the town. According to friends, she spent a lot of
time in the fast food take away and she was
always given free food as detective's dog. Deeper disturbing stories
began to surface. A woman named Kirsty Fletcher worked at
another fast food restaurant in Blackpool. One day, she went
(18:15):
to see her employer about wages. While there, she overheard
a group of men talking. Among them was Albataki. The
men were discussing having sex with young white girls. Albaateeki
mentioned Charlene by name. He laughed and said that she
was kinky and very small, and he added a chilling
(18:37):
comment that Charlene had gone into the kebabs. But Kursey
wasn't the only one to hear things. David Cassidy, a
local arcade owner, was a friend of Albataki and his
brother Terake. After a falling out between the Brothersterake had
confided in David with everything will happened to Charlene Downes.
(19:05):
He said to him that he knew something that would
get my brother sent away. He was in tears as
he spoke. According to David, Drake said that his brother
had strangled Charlene. There was a lot of blood, he
told him. He said that Charlene had been killed, chopped
up and disposed of. When Albategi found out his brother
(19:27):
had spoken, he threatened David, warning that he'd be dealt
with if he told anybody. He even offered him an
interest free loan arranged through Revie She to keep him quiet,
but eventually David went to police. He later explained, I
had heard rumors of young girls getting into Van's and
(19:47):
not being seen until the next day. I'd heard people
say that Ravechi was seen in bed with three young girls.
One of them was Charlene Downes. I was told she'd
had enough and was going to go to the police,
and that's what triggered something in their heads. They weren't
going to let that happen. Detectives soon spoke with Alba
(20:08):
Taki and Riveshi. Both men insisted they had never seen
Charlene in person, and the only time they had any
knowledge of her was through the missing person posters. They
denied any involvement in her disappearance. Be an indictable with
the woice. All of us are nice, all of us
who haven't done Would you consider yourself to be a
(20:30):
good friend or us easible? Dead? Did? Good? Friendly? Yeah?
He's a good friend. Yeah. I wouldn't say it's about
this thinks a person? No, no, no, no, I mean
there is nothing to hide all of us. Police weren't convinced.
They installed covert listening devices in both Albataki and Raveachi's
flats and even in Ravechi's car. What they captured was
(20:54):
deeply troubling. The recordings were often fragmented and difficult to interpret.
The detective said that certain phrases and exchanges suggested involvement
in Charlene's disappearance. On one tape, Ravichi was heard expressing
disbelief that police were investigating the case. In his words,
(21:16):
Charlene was not even from a decent or important family.
On another, he apparently said eat the body. Albaategy could
be heard saying he had killed while talking about Charlene.
In another recording, Ravichi described a gruesome act. Her big
bone went into the machine as well. Albateki responded her
(21:40):
bones inside the machine. Ravigi confirmed yes. The conversation suggested
a disturbing sequence of events that Albaateki had killed Charlene
and Ravichi had assisted in disposing of the body. There
were repeated references to a kebab machine, and at one
(22:00):
point Ravichi spoke about checking the burial place. Later his
tone broke and he sobbed, I can't cope. The recordings
alone were not straightforward evidence. They were difficult to interpret
and often opened a challenge, but in combination with witness
statements and the broader investigation, they painted a disturbing picture.
(22:31):
The day after the arrest, Albatake was charged with murder
and Ravachi with assisting an offender. The trial began in
May of two thousand and seven at Preston Crowancourt. Prosecutor
Tim Holroyd opened by telling the jury that Charlene had
been groomed by one or both of the defendants. He
described the network of young white girls who were drawn
(22:53):
into Blackpool's fast food shops where they were sexually exploited
by older men. The prosecutor outlined the witness testimony, the
recorded conversations and other pieces of evidence. He argued that
Albateiki was the person who killed Charlene and that Ravechi
had helped in disposing of her body. The defense claimed
(23:15):
that both men were innocent. They argued that the witnesses
were unreliable, that the recordings were too difficult to decipher,
and that the police had overstepped their expertise. Defense attorney
John Bromley Davenport even suggested that Detective Sergeant gene b
Sant was unqualified to interpret the tapes given how closely
(23:36):
she had been involved with the case from the start.
Testimony from Detective Sergeant Stephen Moorcraft detailed the nation wide
search for Charlene. He said there had been more than
seventy reported sightings across the UK and abroad. Every report
had been investigated, but none yielded any results. Miricroft noted
(23:58):
that there was no record of Charlene Howd having worked,
claimed benefits, used NHS services, or paid rent or utility
bills in the years following her disappearance. The prosecution then
presented fifty two digital audio tapes collected during the surveillance
police had monitored the suspects twenty four hours a day
(24:18):
from a dedicated room at Blackpool's police station, carefully cataloging
every conversation whennesses also included David Cassidy, a local arcade owner,
who recounted what Tariq had told him about his brother.
Tarik had confided that Abatiki strangled Charlene and then dismembered
(24:38):
her body. Cassidy testified he told me she was strangled.
As Cassidy gave his testimony, Charlene's mother, Karen, was overwhelmed
and fled from the public gallery in tears. I spent
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attacked Cassidy's credibility. He suggested that the conversation never occurred,
pointing to Cassidy's past criminal record for dishonesty dating back
to when he was seventeen. Goldran asked why Cassidy had
waited months to go to the police. He responded, I
had to determine whether it was here sayer gossip. The
(26:51):
jury were then sent off to deliberate. By the end
of the first day, they hadn't reached a verdict. This
continued for eleven more day days. Unable to come to
an agreement, the jury was discharged and a retrial was ordered.
In April the next year, an unexpected development shocked everybody
involved in the case. The charges against Yad Albatik and
(27:15):
Mohammed Ravishi were dropped. Lakeshier Police faced severe criticism, accused
of having lied and of pursuing the case with an agenda.
After the collapse, serious errors with the surveillance evidence had
been identified, raising questions with the Crime Prosecution Service. On
(27:36):
top of his, concerns were raised about David Cassidy, the
lead witness. His reliability was called into question and without
sufficient credible evidence, prosecutors were forced to offer no case.
Both men were then released from costady. Charlene's family were
said to be devastated. Her mother Karen said part of
(28:00):
me went with her. She didn't deserve to die. Ravigi
meanwhile described the case against him as shameful and announced
plans to sue the police. Both he and Albatigo were
later awarded two hundred and fifty thousand pounds in compensation
for the time they had spent behind bars. In the aftermath,
(28:20):
it was announced at Lancashire Police would be investigated by
the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The inquiry would focus on
an alleged abuse of process by officers and the disappearance
of a key tape from the surveillance. While the investigation continued,
Charlene's parents began organizing a memorial service for their daughter
(28:41):
at Saint John's Church in Blackpool. They also planned to
place a memorial bench in Stanley Park, one of Charlene's
favorite places. Her father, Robert, took on a fund raising challenge,
cycling the Northwest coast to raise money for the memorial.
He stated, it's been really difficult, but this has given
(29:02):
me something to concentrate on. It's frustrating because you can't
actually do anything. You have to just wait around and
hope you hear some news. But this has given me
something I can throw myself into, something I can actually
do that's not out of my hands. The memorial service
was held on the fourteenth of September. Karen and Robert
(29:22):
commented that they were beginning to accept that Charlene was dead.
They hope the service would allow those who knew her
to celebrate her life and look forward with hope. Led
by Reverend Helen Hornby, the service included heartfelt eulogies from
the family. The reverend then remarked, the best memorial to
Charlene will not be in marble or stone, but in
(29:44):
this smile and sunny nature that so many of her family,
friends and neighbors have described so well. Following the service,
four white doves were released in front of the church.
The next month, the memorial bench in Stanley Park was unveiled. Then,
in March of two thousand and nine, Charlene's sister Emma
was charged with the racially aggravated assault against Albateake's brother
(30:09):
to Rake at Black Pulse Club, Sanouk. She had slapped
him and then made racial remarks. Dreke said to her,
it's got nothing to do with me. Emma pleaded guilty
the lesser charge of common assault. She claimed that during
the incident to rake it spad in her face, first
prompting her reaction. In October of two thousand and nine,
(30:38):
the Independent Police Complaints Commission concluded its investigation into the
handling of the case. The report identified a series of
failings by Lancashire Police, citing a strategic and tactical failure
in the management of audio and video material. Proper records
hadn't been maintained, evidence was incompletely transcribed, and the overall
(31:02):
integrity of the material hadn't been insured. The use of
untrained and inexperienced officers was also criticized, as well as
the handling of a human intelligence source. The report recommended
that one officer face a disciplinary hearing, another receive a
written warning, and five more be given words of advice.
(31:24):
Assistant Chief Constable Andy Cook said, I want to reassure
the family and our local communities that we have learned
lessons from this and have moved on quickly in terms
of handling such information. For Charlene's mother, Karen, the findings
offered little comfort. She said, we feel badly let down
(31:45):
by the police and the Crime Prosecution Service. We're no
further on, We're back to square one. There's no closure.
Following the report, protests erupted from the far right group
the English Defense League, known for its anti Islam rhetoric.
The EDL claimed to be demonstrating for justice for Charlene
Downes when they gathered at Saint Chad's Headland. Their presence
(32:09):
inflamed tensions in Blackpool, drawing media attention and further complicating
an already fraud situation. Meanwhile, in twenty ten, the fast
food takeaway previously known as Funny Boys returned to public scrutiny.
Renamed Mister Baines, its license was revoked by Blackpool counsul
(32:30):
Councilors noted that crime levels of the premises were three
times higher than the other takeaways in the town center.
Allegations of inappropriate behavior with young girls persisted, and the
takeaway was still operated by Mohammed Ravishi and Iad Albataki.
The men contested the license revocation, claiming of vendetta against them,
(32:55):
despite no convictions in the connection to Charlene's disappearance. Investigations
revealed that in the twelve months leading up to the
thirty first of March, the takeaway accounted for sixty five
percent of all reported incidents across four late night takeaways
on Dixon Road. Nine violent offenses were recorded during that period,
(33:17):
including mass brawls and disorderly behavior, while CCTV coverage was
found to be non functional. Multiple young girls reported mating
Albataki at the takeaway, where they were allegedly supplied with
alcohol and cocaine. Solicitor Anthony Horn, representing Blackpool Police at
(33:38):
the licensing hearings, stated, one of our concerns is this
pattern of young girls being attracted to the premises because
they're open late and being supplied with alcohol and cocaine.
There's no other takeaway in Blackpool that comes anywhere near
this level of incidents. During the hearing, six young females
came forward to detail separate incidents of decent behavior by
(34:01):
Albatiki and Raveshi. The girls, aged between thirteen and fifteen,
described being groomed, touched, and given gifts in exchange for sex.
A photograph was even presented showing Albataki with the fourteen
year old girl sitting on his knee. In October of
two thousand and nine, the family of a fifteen year
old girl reported that Albatiki had supplied her with drugs,
(34:24):
prompting the police to serve him with the warning notice
under the Child Abduction Act prohibiting contact with girls under sixteen.
Records also revealed that Albatiki had been arrested on suspicion
of rape on five separate occasions over the past three
or four years. Albatiki testified during the hearing defending himself,
(34:46):
I've been arrested five times for it, but never charged,
and each of the five times came after the Charlene
Dawns case. The police don't like me because I've proved
they're corrupt. They have so called intelligence reports on me,
but they're not right. We're talking about a conspiracy. At
the time, police had kept details of the Grimming Ring quiet,
(35:07):
amid claims that the report had been suppressed for reasons
of political correctness. An officer speaking anonymously said there was
a reluctance to acknowledge the specific offend their profile because
ninety six percent of Blackpool's population is white. Ultimately, following
the hearing, the men were informed that the takeaway could
(35:28):
no longer operate past eleven pm. In May of twenty eleven,
yet Albatiki once again faced legal consequences. He was convicted
of attacking his ex girlfriend, eighteen year old Natasha Mottram
in court. Natasha accused him of using alcohol and cocaine
to manipulate her and her friends, keeping them hanging around
(35:50):
his takeaway after she left him for a new boyfriend.
Albatiki head buttered her. The victim told the court, he's
a horrible man. I don't want to go into Blackpool
in case I see him. He's so intimidating. I have
had nightmares about him and I can't sleep properly. Albataki
was sentenced to twenty weeks in jail. The takeaway was
(36:13):
eventually sold in July of two thy eleven, closing a
chapter on the premises that had been linked to multiple
allegations of grooming and exploitation. Towards the end of that year,
Detective Superintendent jan Bacint resigned amid criticism of her handling
of the Charlene Dawns investigation. Joan had been solely responsible
(36:36):
for bogging Albataki's home. A tribunal later cleared her name
and confirmed she could rejoin the force, although she chose
not to. She subsequently sued them for five hundred thousand pounds,
with her Police Federation representative describing her as having been
made a scapegoat for the failed murder inquiry. Charlene's family
(36:56):
continued to struggle with the aftermath. Her sister Becky found
it impossible to move on and eventually gave up her job.
She reflected, if I let go of that little feeling
of hope or crack, I carry the guilt around with
me constantly. If I didn't leave her that day, would
it have happened? It's on my mind. Twenty four to seven, Robert,
(37:19):
Charlene's father, went off sick, while Karen, her mother, quit
her job as a club promoter in Blackpool. In February
of twenty twelve, Charlene's older brother, Robert was arrested after
punching Ravati in the face and shouting that's for my sister.
He pleaded guilty due charge of putting a person in
fear of violence by harassment and was sentenced to twelve
(37:43):
months in jail, suspended for two years. Karen was also
handed a harassment warning after distributing flowers implicating Albatakean Ravachi
and her daughter's disappearance. She refused to sign the notice,
insisting she would rather go to prison. I'm very upset.
I'm Charlene's mother and I should be allowed to protest peacefully.
(38:13):
The years continued to drag past despite the controversy. Police
remained convinced that they had arrested the right men, but
others weren't so sure. At the ten year anniversary, a
digitally eaged photograph if Charlene was released. It was handed
to her mother. She smiled faintly and stated, it's really
(38:34):
lovely being faced with a photo of what she would
look like now. She called her daughter beautiful. She said
she missed her every single day. But behind the cameras,
behind the carefully polished words, there was another truth. Charlene's
parents had aligned themselves with the far right. They allowed
(38:55):
her story to be paraded as a symbol of so
called braun on white abuse. They became cherished icons of
the British National Party. But they sat on a hollow
throne because in twenty thirteen, the truth finally began to surface.
Social workers had long believed that Charlene was repeatedly exposed
(39:18):
to abuse, not only outside the home, but inside it,
middle aged white men welcomed in by her own father.
According to police documents, when Charlene was nine, she and
another girl alleged that they were being sexually abused by
a man her parents allowed to take them to school.
(39:41):
He was charged with rape, but the case fell apart
when the other girl failed to give evidence. Then, instead
of protecting her, Charlene's parents allowed a convicted rapist to
visit the house regularly and have unsupervised access to Charlene.
Robert was strung wrongly. Advised by Social services not to
(40:03):
allow the man inside the house, he ignored them. A
witness eventually told police they saw the man fondling Charlene
in the house. At twelve years old, Charlene was discovered
by a council worker in a downstairs bedroom. She was
dressed in a skimpy nightgown, a sixty year old man
(40:25):
was zipping up his trousers. This incident was reported to
Social Services, but it was decided not to pursue the
matter further due to lack of evidence and a lack
of cooperation from Charlene's family. Her parents described it as
a misunderstanding. Robert even blamed the council worker for being
(40:46):
too nosy. Her parents described the man as a lovely,
nice old man who was probably just adjusting his trousers.
By then, Charlene was slipping further into danger. She was
often seen at the Salvation Army soup kitchen. Local spotted
her dancing for grown men outside pubs. Her parents brushed
(41:10):
it off, saying she simply loved music, but men around
her weren't interested in music. A forty year old man
admitted he paid Charlene to perform a sex act on him.
Another man in his fifties described the thirteen year old
as his girlfriend. At the time of her disappearance, another
sexual predator was living in the family home. His name
(41:35):
was Ray Munroe. Robert had met him at a pub
and invited him to stay. Monroe was a convicted sexual offender,
having pleaded guilty to crimes against two ten year old girls.
He even admitted to touching Charlene, but he wasn't the
only one. Over the course of Charlene's short life, as
(41:57):
many as sixteen convicted men raped, bists, abusers, violent offenders
had passed through the Downs home. Child protection officials wrote
report after report they kept notes, but notes don't protect children.
Charlene was labeled vulnerable to exploitation even as an infant.
(42:20):
Twice social services decided she should be taken into care.
The first time there was no place available. The second
time a place was found, but her parents fought to
keep her and they won. At eleven, a hospital report
described signs of sexual abuse. In her last two years alive,
(42:40):
Charlene made thirteen separate visits to a sexual health clinic,
and then when she disappeared, her mother waited two days
before reporting her missing. It later emerged that just a
week earlier, Charlene had been given forty pounds by a
white man described by police as a compulsive, perverted predator
(43:01):
living in a squalid flat filled with pornography. That man
was Ray Monroe, the same man who was living with
the Downs family, the same man who saw Charlene on
the night she disappeared. Police eventually drew up a list
of one hundred men of interest in her case, one
(43:23):
hundred men who could have potentially abused her. It's safe
to say that Charlene was failed by every single adult
who might have protected her, failed by her parents, failed
by social workers, failed by police, and prosecutors whose incombetence
let her case collapse in court. Over the years, detectives
(43:45):
kept pushing. A one hundred thousand pounds reward was offered
for information. In twenty sixteen, they released fresh ECTV from
the day that Charlene vanished, hoping a clearer view and
a wider audience might finally shake loose a name, a detail,
a memory. The following year, a fifty one year old
(44:06):
man was arrested on suspicion of murder. He was never
publicly identified, and after questioning, he was released without charge.
Presumably that man was Ray Monroe. In two thousand and one,
tragedy hit the family once more. Charlene's brother, Robert died
of an accidental hermin overdose. He left behind four children,
(44:31):
Another loss, another absence that couldn't be explained away. Today,
three theories dominate the case. The first that Charlene was
killed by Iad Albatachian disposed of through a mincing machine.
Experts have long caution that forcing a body through commercial
equipment without leaving detectable DNA would be highly unlikely. The
(44:54):
second that Charlene was killed by Ray Munroe, a known
predator who had both opportunity and proximity, and who admitted
to indecently touching Charlene. The third that her parents were involved.
Even now some still point the finger at them. Police
say that both were interviewed and rolled out. What remains
(45:15):
is that Charlene is still missing. There is circumstantial evidence
that she's dead, but no forensic evidence ties her fate
to any single person, no body, no definite of answers,
just a case file that grows older each year. And
so we end where we began with a fourteen year
(45:36):
old girl in a seaside town, A girl who looked
younger than her age, who liked music and fashion, who
joked with friends and wandered the bright streets that promised
excitement and delivered danger. Charlene was vulnerable, marked early as
at risk, and then repeatedly left at risk by adults
(45:56):
who invited harm into her life, by systems that documented
warnings but failed to act, and by an investigation that
stumbled when it mattered the most. Well, that is it
(46:29):
for this episode of Morbidology. As always, thank you so
much for listening and I'd like to say a massive
thank you to my newest supporter up on Patreon. Nel
me the link to Patreon's in the show notes, and
you can join me there for as little as one
dollar a month. Morbidology Plus is also now up on
Apple subscriptions, where you get bonus episodes that aren't on
(46:49):
the regular podcast platforms. I've been sick for the past week,
so I apologize if my voice sounds a bit funky
in this week's episode. Remember to check Aside at morbidology
dot com for more information about this episode and to
read some true crime articles. Until next time, take care
of yourself, stay safe, and have an amazing week.
My daughter has been their returned alder shame for dream.
For over one hundred and fifty years, Blackpool has been
(00:54):
Britain's playground by the sea. What started as a modest
Victorian resort on the Lancashire coast grew into something uniquely British.
It was a place where working class families could escape
their factories in terrace streets for a week of sea
air and entertainment. In By two thousand and three, Blackpool
was adapting to change package holidays to Spain and Beyond
(01:17):
attempted many people away, leaving britain seaside resorts to fight
for their place, but still Blackpool injured. That year, Halloween
fell on a Sunday. Blackpool embraced the occasion with its
usual flare shot windows displayed plastic skeletons and artificial cobwebs.
Pumpkins sat carved and glowing, and pubs organized Halloween Knights
(01:39):
to entice locals and tourists alike. The winter gardens hosted
large themed parties and the streets filled with costumed revelers.
For a weekend, Blackpool was alive, with people moving between venues,
their voices carrying above the noise of the arcades and
the seafront. But by the following a Monday, the first
(02:01):
of November, the atmosphere had shifted. The celebrations were over
and the town returned to its quieter off season rhythm.
Decorations still clung to shop windows, but the crowds had thinned.
It was a work night and the streets were noticeably calmer.
That night, a teenage girl made her way into Blackpool's
(02:23):
town Center. She walked past the familiar outline of the
tar and through streets she knew well, passing shop fronts
still dotted with Halloween displays. Security cameras picked her up
at points along the way, recording her movements in short
fragments of grainny footage, but the cameras didn't capture everything.
(02:45):
They showed her journey into the town Center, but not
the journey home. Somewhere beyond the Golden Mile, in the
maze of streets that fan out from the seafront, she
disappeared a work light when she went up with the
friend and I'm not se quiz. Can I give you
a discripch in place? She's got a shoulder out, dark
(03:07):
brown hair with a fringe. She's got a fringe and
what was she wearing? The black young per aunt were
like white diamonds on the young hair what she called Charlie.
Charlie Dan Charlene Downes was born in Coventry on the
(03:41):
twenty fifth of March nineteen eighty nine. Her early childhood
was spent in the Midlands, where her mother Karen, stayed
at home to care for Charlene and her siblings, brother
and two sisters. Her father, Robert, was a former soldier
who had served in the army before settling into civilian life.
He picked up various jobs, at one point working as
(04:03):
a door man to support the family. When Charlene was
ten years old, the family decided to move to Blackpool,
settling into a terraced house on Buchanan Street. It was
only a short walk from the north here, close enough
to hear the sounds of the town center, but just
far enough removed to maintain the quieter pace of residential life.
(04:25):
By two thousand and three, the household on Buchanan Street
included Charlene's parents, her sister Becky, and her grandmother Jesse.
At fourteen, Charlene was a student at Saint George's High
School in Marton navigating the difficult years between childhood and adulthood.
Like many teenagers in Blackpool, Charlene was drawn to the
town center, the Golden Mile, the shops, the arcades. It
(04:49):
was a place that felt bigger and more exciting than
the quiet streets where she lived, a place where she
could feel independent. Friends described Charlene as outgoing and sociable,
somebody who made friends easily and was always comfortable talking
to new people. She was funny, loyal, and protective of
those that she cared about. Her mother described her as
(05:10):
a bubbly girl who liked to laugh, west life and fashion.
But Charlene's home life wasn't without its challenges. The family
had been known to social services in Coventry and Walsall
due to child protection concerns. In Blackpool, agencies logged reports
of violence in the home, lack of supervision, and incidents
(05:31):
that raised concerns about potential sexual exploitation. Charlene herself was
in a difficult stage. She'd been expelled from school and
was trying to find her footing, no longer a child
but not quite an adult. In the months leading up
to November of two thousand and three, her family noticed
she seemed to be growing up quickly. She was more
(05:53):
focused on her clothes and appearance, and she often spoke
about older friends. It was a familiar your teenage mix
of one thing to be seen as a mature whilst
still being very much a child at home. Her sister
Becky would later reflect on how close they were. I
was involved in a car crash when I was nine
(06:14):
and ended up on a live support machine. When I
came out of the comb I couldn't even tie my
own shoelaces, but Charlene did everything for me. She was
so caring she helped me recover. On the first of
November two thousand and three, the day after Halloween, Charlene
dressed in a black jumper with white diamonds and black
trousers with sequins and three stripes at the bottom. She
(06:37):
and Becky headed into town for some shopping before stopping
at McDonald's for dinner. At around six forty five pm,
the sisters bummed into their mother, Karen, on Church Street.
Karen was handing out fliers for an Indian restaurant where
she worked. They chatted briefly before Becky said that she
was heading home. Charlene's she was going to meet friends
(07:02):
Natalie and Natasha. She used a nearby phone box to
call them and then waited with her mother until they arrived.
Karen watched on as Charlene and her friends walked towards
the Winter gardens. It was the last time she saw
her daughter. When Karen returned home from work that night,
(07:23):
Charlene wasn't there. She had a curfew of ten pm,
but the hours passed with no sign of her. Karen
began calling her on Charlene's friends, but nobody had seen her.
As the night wore on, the absence became more alarming.
What had started as a normal evening in town was
now the beginning of a search that would consume not
(07:45):
only her family, but the entire town. After Charlene Downs
was reported missing, the search for her began. More than
thirty officers were assigned to the case, and police appealed
to the public for their help. In those early days,
(08:07):
they said it was possible that Charlene was sleeping rough
or staying with friends jut connections crossed different parts of town,
but it was still unusual for her to remain out
of touch for so long. Charlene's mother recalled one instance
where she went missing before, around two years earlier. She
said she had spent four days in Wolverhampton before returning home.
(08:32):
According to Karen, however, she didn't believe her daughter was
staying with friends. Nobody had seen her since the day
after Halloween and nobody had heard from her. Inspector Addie
Thistlewaite addressed the press, dating we're growing concern for Charlene's
health and well being as it's out of character for
her to go missing for this length of time. We
(08:55):
would like to stress that she isn't in trouble and
just want to know that she's safe. We would appeal
to anybody for any information about her whereabouts or for
Charlene herself to contact police. As the investigation unfolded, friends
provided insight into her movements. On the night she was
last seen, Charline had spent part of her evening at
(09:16):
the Winter Gardens with her friends Natalie and Natasha. At
around nine p m. They said their goodbyes. Natalie and
Natasha were babysitting for her friend and Charlene told them
that she was going home, but she wasn't. Instead, she
met up with another friend and together they went to
the carousel bar on the North Pier. They stayed there
(09:38):
until around ten p m before leaving and walking towards
Talbot Road. According to this friend, they parted ways at
around eleven p m. With this information, police began scoring
CCTV footage from around the town center. They soon located
a girl they believed to be Charlene, seen around nine
p m on the junction of Dixon Road and Talbot Road.
(10:01):
The footage shooter hanging around the alleyway that runs between
the shops, an area laned mostly with fast food takeaways,
but after that the trail went cold. As weeks turned
two months, police continued to appeal for information. Charlene's family
also spoke publicly. Her mother Karen, made a heartfelt play,
(10:23):
I can't understand why Charlene hasn't been in touch. The
pain is unbearable. It's breaking my heart not knowing where
she is. If Charlene reads or hears my appeal, I
want her to know how much I miss and love her.
Her father, Robert, echoed the same fears. The stress of
not knowing where her beloved daughter is or whether she's
in any danger is becoming unbearable. Detectives chased every possible lead.
(10:49):
They visited Charlene's friends in Oldham, Denton and Wolverhampton. They
conducted door to door inquiries across Blackpool and beyond, and
were even assisted by the National Missing Person's Helpline, but
nobody had seen or heard from Charlene since the night
she vanished. In an effort to generate new Leeds police
reliefed a picture of jeanes that were identical with the
(11:11):
pair Charlene was wearing when she vanished. By January, a
new missing person poster was distributed to every police station
in the country. A small number of sidings were reported
from different areas, but each one was investigated and ultimately
ruled out. Charlene's trail, it seemed, had vanished into thin air.
(11:39):
In May of two thousand and four, six months after
Charlene went missing, detectives took an unusual step. They started
DNA's testing male volunteers in the area. Detective Inspector Tony
Harling explained, it may seem unusual to begin forensic testing
in cases such as this where we have turned up
no evidence from the missing person. It's not standard practice,
(12:02):
but we decided to act on information gained from interviews
with the number of Charlene's known associates. Those interviews with
Charlene's friends revealed something deeply troubling. They told police that
Charlene had been having sex with foreign men who owned
or worked at local takeaways. But Charlene was only fourteen
(12:24):
years old. The reality was that she was being groomed
and exploited, and she wasn't the only one. According to
one detective, she was one of a number of adolescent
white girls who sometimes went at night to the alleyways
behind the restaurants. Here, these girls exchanged sex for goods.
(12:46):
Charlene and her friends even had a ra assistant derogatory
named for it, Packy Alley. It was where they went
when they were hungry, needed cigarettes, alcohol, or just some
credit for their mobile phones. One of Charlene's friends later
described how it started. They were older than you, and
you thought they were your friends. It all seemed so
(13:08):
glamorous and exciting. Young girls were drawn to the flash cars,
the money, the alcohol, free food, sometimes drugs, but the
glamor quickly faded. The investigation uncovered a pattern of systematic exploitation.
Vulnerable girls, some as young as eleven, were being targeted
(13:28):
by men working in Blackpool's fast food outlets. They were
offered food, alcohol, or small amounts of money in exchange
for sexual acts. Police later described these takeaways as honeypot locations,
places where predators could easily identify and exploit vulnerable teenagers.
(13:50):
One of Charlene's friends remembered a man who would offer
her drugs, saying they would loosen her up. She said
he made her flesh crawl. Another man constantly propositioned young girls,
all while insulting them, calling white girls flags and comparing
them unfavorably to Muslim women, who he said walked five
(14:12):
steps behind their husbands. The scale of abuse was staggering.
Police believed at least sixty girls had been caught up
in the network. A later report concluded young people were
being abused and assaulted both inside and outside of premises
by a number of takeaway owners and workers. The wider
(14:33):
environment made Blackpool particularly vulnerable to this kind of exploitation.
The town had high levels of poverty and cheap short
term housing that meant people were constantly moving in and
moving out. By the early two thousands, Blackpool ranked as
the twelfth poorest area in the country. Around sixteen percent
(14:54):
of children on the town's Child Protection Register were considered
at risk of abuse, nearly doubled the national average. Add
that to the fact that Blackpool had always drawn in
runaway children attracted by the bright lights of the Seaside Horn,
and it created the perfect condition for predators. Charlene's disappearance
had exposed what was believed to be one of the
(15:16):
first grooming networks identified in Britain on this scale. It
had been hiding in plain sight. See mcgurty, who coordinated
Mothers if sexually abused children, wasn't surprised. She commented, there
have always been shocking levels of abuse of children in
this town, but before Charlene Downes went missing, it was
completely swept onto the carpet. In response, police formed a
(15:40):
dedicated task force, Project Awaken, set up specifically to tackle
child sexual exploitation in Blackpool, and detectives began to wonder
if Charlene herself had been forced into sex work. Over
the course of the investigation, more than three thousand men
were DNA tested, but nothing ever came of these tests,
(16:04):
and Charlene remained missing. The first anniversary of her disappearance
came and went, then the second, her family were left
trying to piece together their lives without knowing what had
happened to their daughter. Every so often someone was sure
they'd seen her in Manchester, in a Burger king in London,
but each sighting was investigated and each was ruled out.
(16:28):
Theories circulated. Some people believed that Charlene had simply run away,
others thought she must have been sold into sex trafficking,
and many were convinced that she was dead. At the
two year anniversary, Detective Superintendent Paul Basheney made it clear
that the case was still a priority. He stated, it
(16:49):
doesn't matter how many cases were working on. She has
an incident room all of her own and there are
officers working on her case who have been with it
from day one. In the early hours of the seventh
of March two thousand and six, police moved in. Officers
(17:10):
surrounded two flats, one in Blackpool, the other in nearby Fleetwood.
They waited in the darkness until the order came. Doors
were smashed open and two men were arrested. Twenty eight
year old he At Albaateak and forty nine year old
Mohammed Ravishi Albataki, who was originally from Jordan, owned a
(17:32):
fast food shop in Blackpool called Funny Boys. Ravichi, who
was born in Iran, was a former army sergeant. He
was also Abataki's business partner and also his landlord. Charlene
had been a familiar face at Funny Boys when other
teenagers were in school. She was often seen hanging around
(17:55):
the town. According to friends, she spent a lot of
time in the fast food take away and she was
always given free food as detective's dog. Deeper disturbing stories
began to surface. A woman named Kirsty Fletcher worked at
another fast food restaurant in Blackpool. One day, she went
(18:15):
to see her employer about wages. While there, she overheard
a group of men talking. Among them was Albataki. The
men were discussing having sex with young white girls. Albaateeki
mentioned Charlene by name. He laughed and said that she
was kinky and very small, and he added a chilling
(18:37):
comment that Charlene had gone into the kebabs. But Kursey
wasn't the only one to hear things. David Cassidy, a
local arcade owner, was a friend of Albataki and his
brother Terake. After a falling out between the Brothersterake had
confided in David with everything will happened to Charlene Downes.
(19:05):
He said to him that he knew something that would
get my brother sent away. He was in tears as
he spoke. According to David, Drake said that his brother
had strangled Charlene. There was a lot of blood, he
told him. He said that Charlene had been killed, chopped
up and disposed of. When Albategi found out his brother
(19:27):
had spoken, he threatened David, warning that he'd be dealt
with if he told anybody. He even offered him an
interest free loan arranged through Revie She to keep him quiet,
but eventually David went to police. He later explained, I
had heard rumors of young girls getting into Van's and
(19:47):
not being seen until the next day. I'd heard people
say that Ravechi was seen in bed with three young girls.
One of them was Charlene Downes. I was told she'd
had enough and was going to go to the police,
and that's what triggered something in their heads. They weren't
going to let that happen. Detectives soon spoke with Alba
(20:08):
Taki and Riveshi. Both men insisted they had never seen
Charlene in person, and the only time they had any
knowledge of her was through the missing person posters. They
denied any involvement in her disappearance. Be an indictable with
the woice. All of us are nice, all of us
who haven't done Would you consider yourself to be a
(20:30):
good friend or us easible? Dead? Did? Good? Friendly? Yeah?
He's a good friend. Yeah. I wouldn't say it's about
this thinks a person? No, no, no, no, I mean
there is nothing to hide all of us. Police weren't convinced.
They installed covert listening devices in both Albataki and Raveachi's
flats and even in Ravechi's car. What they captured was
(20:54):
deeply troubling. The recordings were often fragmented and difficult to interpret.
The detective said that certain phrases and exchanges suggested involvement
in Charlene's disappearance. On one tape, Ravichi was heard expressing
disbelief that police were investigating the case. In his words,
(21:16):
Charlene was not even from a decent or important family.
On another, he apparently said eat the body. Albaategy could
be heard saying he had killed while talking about Charlene.
In another recording, Ravichi described a gruesome act. Her big
bone went into the machine as well. Albateki responded her
(21:40):
bones inside the machine. Ravigi confirmed yes. The conversation suggested
a disturbing sequence of events that Albaateki had killed Charlene
and Ravichi had assisted in disposing of the body. There
were repeated references to a kebab machine, and at one
(22:00):
point Ravichi spoke about checking the burial place. Later his
tone broke and he sobbed, I can't cope. The recordings
alone were not straightforward evidence. They were difficult to interpret
and often opened a challenge, but in combination with witness
statements and the broader investigation, they painted a disturbing picture.
(22:31):
The day after the arrest, Albatake was charged with murder
and Ravachi with assisting an offender. The trial began in
May of two thousand and seven at Preston Crowancourt. Prosecutor
Tim Holroyd opened by telling the jury that Charlene had
been groomed by one or both of the defendants. He
described the network of young white girls who were drawn
(22:53):
into Blackpool's fast food shops where they were sexually exploited
by older men. The prosecutor outlined the witness testimony, the
recorded conversations and other pieces of evidence. He argued that
Albateiki was the person who killed Charlene and that Ravechi
had helped in disposing of her body. The defense claimed
(23:15):
that both men were innocent. They argued that the witnesses
were unreliable, that the recordings were too difficult to decipher,
and that the police had overstepped their expertise. Defense attorney
John Bromley Davenport even suggested that Detective Sergeant gene b
Sant was unqualified to interpret the tapes given how closely
(23:36):
she had been involved with the case from the start.
Testimony from Detective Sergeant Stephen Moorcraft detailed the nation wide
search for Charlene. He said there had been more than
seventy reported sightings across the UK and abroad. Every report
had been investigated, but none yielded any results. Miricroft noted
(23:58):
that there was no record of Charlene Howd having worked,
claimed benefits, used NHS services, or paid rent or utility
bills in the years following her disappearance. The prosecution then
presented fifty two digital audio tapes collected during the surveillance
police had monitored the suspects twenty four hours a day
(24:18):
from a dedicated room at Blackpool's police station, carefully cataloging
every conversation whennesses also included David Cassidy, a local arcade owner,
who recounted what Tariq had told him about his brother.
Tarik had confided that Abatiki strangled Charlene and then dismembered
(24:38):
her body. Cassidy testified he told me she was strangled.
As Cassidy gave his testimony, Charlene's mother, Karen, was overwhelmed
and fled from the public gallery in tears. I spent
a lot of time in my home studio researching cases,
recording episodes, and editing audio. So when I learned that
(25:00):
indoor air can actually be up to one hundred times
more polluted than outdoor air, I'll admit I was pretty alarmed.
We're talking about allergens, dusted mold spores, even viruses just
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attacked Cassidy's credibility. He suggested that the conversation never occurred,
pointing to Cassidy's past criminal record for dishonesty dating back
to when he was seventeen. Goldran asked why Cassidy had
waited months to go to the police. He responded, I
had to determine whether it was here sayer gossip. The
(26:51):
jury were then sent off to deliberate. By the end
of the first day, they hadn't reached a verdict. This
continued for eleven more day days. Unable to come to
an agreement, the jury was discharged and a retrial was ordered.
In April the next year, an unexpected development shocked everybody
involved in the case. The charges against Yad Albatik and
(27:15):
Mohammed Ravishi were dropped. Lakeshier Police faced severe criticism, accused
of having lied and of pursuing the case with an agenda.
After the collapse, serious errors with the surveillance evidence had
been identified, raising questions with the Crime Prosecution Service. On
(27:36):
top of his, concerns were raised about David Cassidy, the
lead witness. His reliability was called into question and without
sufficient credible evidence, prosecutors were forced to offer no case.
Both men were then released from costady. Charlene's family were
said to be devastated. Her mother Karen said part of
(28:00):
me went with her. She didn't deserve to die. Ravigi
meanwhile described the case against him as shameful and announced
plans to sue the police. Both he and Albatigo were
later awarded two hundred and fifty thousand pounds in compensation
for the time they had spent behind bars. In the aftermath,
(28:20):
it was announced at Lancashire Police would be investigated by
the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The inquiry would focus on
an alleged abuse of process by officers and the disappearance
of a key tape from the surveillance. While the investigation continued,
Charlene's parents began organizing a memorial service for their daughter
(28:41):
at Saint John's Church in Blackpool. They also planned to
place a memorial bench in Stanley Park, one of Charlene's
favorite places. Her father, Robert, took on a fund raising challenge,
cycling the Northwest coast to raise money for the memorial.
He stated, it's been really difficult, but this has given
(29:02):
me something to concentrate on. It's frustrating because you can't
actually do anything. You have to just wait around and
hope you hear some news. But this has given me
something I can throw myself into, something I can actually
do that's not out of my hands. The memorial service
was held on the fourteenth of September. Karen and Robert
(29:22):
commented that they were beginning to accept that Charlene was dead.
They hope the service would allow those who knew her
to celebrate her life and look forward with hope. Led
by Reverend Helen Hornby, the service included heartfelt eulogies from
the family. The reverend then remarked, the best memorial to
Charlene will not be in marble or stone, but in
(29:44):
this smile and sunny nature that so many of her family,
friends and neighbors have described so well. Following the service,
four white doves were released in front of the church.
The next month, the memorial bench in Stanley Park was unveiled. Then,
in March of two thousand and nine, Charlene's sister Emma
was charged with the racially aggravated assault against Albateake's brother
(30:09):
to Rake at Black Pulse Club, Sanouk. She had slapped
him and then made racial remarks. Dreke said to her,
it's got nothing to do with me. Emma pleaded guilty
the lesser charge of common assault. She claimed that during
the incident to rake it spad in her face, first
prompting her reaction. In October of two thousand and nine,
(30:38):
the Independent Police Complaints Commission concluded its investigation into the
handling of the case. The report identified a series of
failings by Lancashire Police, citing a strategic and tactical failure
in the management of audio and video material. Proper records
hadn't been maintained, evidence was incompletely transcribed, and the overall
(31:02):
integrity of the material hadn't been insured. The use of
untrained and inexperienced officers was also criticized, as well as
the handling of a human intelligence source. The report recommended
that one officer face a disciplinary hearing, another receive a
written warning, and five more be given words of advice.
(31:24):
Assistant Chief Constable Andy Cook said, I want to reassure
the family and our local communities that we have learned
lessons from this and have moved on quickly in terms
of handling such information. For Charlene's mother, Karen, the findings
offered little comfort. She said, we feel badly let down
(31:45):
by the police and the Crime Prosecution Service. We're no
further on, We're back to square one. There's no closure.
Following the report, protests erupted from the far right group
the English Defense League, known for its anti Islam rhetoric.
The EDL claimed to be demonstrating for justice for Charlene
Downes when they gathered at Saint Chad's Headland. Their presence
(32:09):
inflamed tensions in Blackpool, drawing media attention and further complicating
an already fraud situation. Meanwhile, in twenty ten, the fast
food takeaway previously known as Funny Boys returned to public scrutiny.
Renamed Mister Baines, its license was revoked by Blackpool counsul
(32:30):
Councilors noted that crime levels of the premises were three
times higher than the other takeaways in the town center.
Allegations of inappropriate behavior with young girls persisted, and the
takeaway was still operated by Mohammed Ravishi and Iad Albataki.
The men contested the license revocation, claiming of vendetta against them,
(32:55):
despite no convictions in the connection to Charlene's disappearance. Investigations
revealed that in the twelve months leading up to the
thirty first of March, the takeaway accounted for sixty five
percent of all reported incidents across four late night takeaways
on Dixon Road. Nine violent offenses were recorded during that period,
(33:17):
including mass brawls and disorderly behavior, while CCTV coverage was
found to be non functional. Multiple young girls reported mating
Albataki at the takeaway, where they were allegedly supplied with
alcohol and cocaine. Solicitor Anthony Horn, representing Blackpool Police at
(33:38):
the licensing hearings, stated, one of our concerns is this
pattern of young girls being attracted to the premises because
they're open late and being supplied with alcohol and cocaine.
There's no other takeaway in Blackpool that comes anywhere near
this level of incidents. During the hearing, six young females
came forward to detail separate incidents of decent behavior by
(34:01):
Albatiki and Raveshi. The girls, aged between thirteen and fifteen,
described being groomed, touched, and given gifts in exchange for sex.
A photograph was even presented showing Albataki with the fourteen
year old girl sitting on his knee. In October of
two thousand and nine, the family of a fifteen year
old girl reported that Albatiki had supplied her with drugs,
(34:24):
prompting the police to serve him with the warning notice
under the Child Abduction Act prohibiting contact with girls under sixteen.
Records also revealed that Albatiki had been arrested on suspicion
of rape on five separate occasions over the past three
or four years. Albatiki testified during the hearing defending himself,
(34:46):
I've been arrested five times for it, but never charged,
and each of the five times came after the Charlene
Dawns case. The police don't like me because I've proved
they're corrupt. They have so called intelligence reports on me,
but they're not right. We're talking about a conspiracy. At
the time, police had kept details of the Grimming Ring quiet,
(35:07):
amid claims that the report had been suppressed for reasons
of political correctness. An officer speaking anonymously said there was
a reluctance to acknowledge the specific offend their profile because
ninety six percent of Blackpool's population is white. Ultimately, following
the hearing, the men were informed that the takeaway could
(35:28):
no longer operate past eleven pm. In May of twenty eleven,
yet Albatiki once again faced legal consequences. He was convicted
of attacking his ex girlfriend, eighteen year old Natasha Mottram
in court. Natasha accused him of using alcohol and cocaine
to manipulate her and her friends, keeping them hanging around
(35:50):
his takeaway after she left him for a new boyfriend.
Albatiki head buttered her. The victim told the court, he's
a horrible man. I don't want to go into Blackpool
in case I see him. He's so intimidating. I have
had nightmares about him and I can't sleep properly. Albataki
was sentenced to twenty weeks in jail. The takeaway was
(36:13):
eventually sold in July of two thy eleven, closing a
chapter on the premises that had been linked to multiple
allegations of grooming and exploitation. Towards the end of that year,
Detective Superintendent jan Bacint resigned amid criticism of her handling
of the Charlene Dawns investigation. Joan had been solely responsible
(36:36):
for bogging Albataki's home. A tribunal later cleared her name
and confirmed she could rejoin the force, although she chose
not to. She subsequently sued them for five hundred thousand pounds,
with her Police Federation representative describing her as having been
made a scapegoat for the failed murder inquiry. Charlene's family
(36:56):
continued to struggle with the aftermath. Her sister Becky found
it impossible to move on and eventually gave up her job.
She reflected, if I let go of that little feeling
of hope or crack, I carry the guilt around with
me constantly. If I didn't leave her that day, would
it have happened? It's on my mind. Twenty four to seven, Robert,
(37:19):
Charlene's father, went off sick, while Karen, her mother, quit
her job as a club promoter in Blackpool. In February
of twenty twelve, Charlene's older brother, Robert was arrested after
punching Ravati in the face and shouting that's for my sister.
He pleaded guilty due charge of putting a person in
fear of violence by harassment and was sentenced to twelve
(37:43):
months in jail, suspended for two years. Karen was also
handed a harassment warning after distributing flowers implicating Albatakean Ravachi
and her daughter's disappearance. She refused to sign the notice,
insisting she would rather go to prison. I'm very upset.
I'm Charlene's mother and I should be allowed to protest peacefully.
(38:13):
The years continued to drag past despite the controversy. Police
remained convinced that they had arrested the right men, but
others weren't so sure. At the ten year anniversary, a
digitally eaged photograph if Charlene was released. It was handed
to her mother. She smiled faintly and stated, it's really
(38:34):
lovely being faced with a photo of what she would
look like now. She called her daughter beautiful. She said
she missed her every single day. But behind the cameras,
behind the carefully polished words, there was another truth. Charlene's
parents had aligned themselves with the far right. They allowed
(38:55):
her story to be paraded as a symbol of so
called braun on white abuse. They became cherished icons of
the British National Party. But they sat on a hollow
throne because in twenty thirteen, the truth finally began to surface.
Social workers had long believed that Charlene was repeatedly exposed
(39:18):
to abuse, not only outside the home, but inside it,
middle aged white men welcomed in by her own father.
According to police documents, when Charlene was nine, she and
another girl alleged that they were being sexually abused by
a man her parents allowed to take them to school.
(39:41):
He was charged with rape, but the case fell apart
when the other girl failed to give evidence. Then, instead
of protecting her, Charlene's parents allowed a convicted rapist to
visit the house regularly and have unsupervised access to Charlene.
Robert was strung wrongly. Advised by Social services not to
(40:03):
allow the man inside the house, he ignored them. A
witness eventually told police they saw the man fondling Charlene
in the house. At twelve years old, Charlene was discovered
by a council worker in a downstairs bedroom. She was
dressed in a skimpy nightgown, a sixty year old man
(40:25):
was zipping up his trousers. This incident was reported to
Social Services, but it was decided not to pursue the
matter further due to lack of evidence and a lack
of cooperation from Charlene's family. Her parents described it as
a misunderstanding. Robert even blamed the council worker for being
(40:46):
too nosy. Her parents described the man as a lovely,
nice old man who was probably just adjusting his trousers.
By then, Charlene was slipping further into danger. She was
often seen at the Salvation Army soup kitchen. Local spotted
her dancing for grown men outside pubs. Her parents brushed
(41:10):
it off, saying she simply loved music, but men around
her weren't interested in music. A forty year old man
admitted he paid Charlene to perform a sex act on him.
Another man in his fifties described the thirteen year old
as his girlfriend. At the time of her disappearance, another
sexual predator was living in the family home. His name
(41:35):
was Ray Munroe. Robert had met him at a pub
and invited him to stay. Monroe was a convicted sexual offender,
having pleaded guilty to crimes against two ten year old girls.
He even admitted to touching Charlene, but he wasn't the
only one. Over the course of Charlene's short life, as
(41:57):
many as sixteen convicted men raped, bists, abusers, violent offenders
had passed through the Downs home. Child protection officials wrote
report after report they kept notes, but notes don't protect children.
Charlene was labeled vulnerable to exploitation even as an infant.
(42:20):
Twice social services decided she should be taken into care.
The first time there was no place available. The second
time a place was found, but her parents fought to
keep her and they won. At eleven, a hospital report
described signs of sexual abuse. In her last two years alive,
(42:40):
Charlene made thirteen separate visits to a sexual health clinic,
and then when she disappeared, her mother waited two days
before reporting her missing. It later emerged that just a
week earlier, Charlene had been given forty pounds by a
white man described by police as a compulsive, perverted predator
(43:01):
living in a squalid flat filled with pornography. That man
was Ray Monroe, the same man who was living with
the Downs family, the same man who saw Charlene on
the night she disappeared. Police eventually drew up a list
of one hundred men of interest in her case, one
(43:23):
hundred men who could have potentially abused her. It's safe
to say that Charlene was failed by every single adult
who might have protected her, failed by her parents, failed
by social workers, failed by police, and prosecutors whose incombetence
let her case collapse in court. Over the years, detectives
(43:45):
kept pushing. A one hundred thousand pounds reward was offered
for information. In twenty sixteen, they released fresh ECTV from
the day that Charlene vanished, hoping a clearer view and
a wider audience might finally shake loose a name, a detail,
a memory. The following year, a fifty one year old
(44:06):
man was arrested on suspicion of murder. He was never
publicly identified, and after questioning, he was released without charge.
Presumably that man was Ray Monroe. In two thousand and one,
tragedy hit the family once more. Charlene's brother, Robert died
of an accidental hermin overdose. He left behind four children,
(44:31):
Another loss, another absence that couldn't be explained away. Today,
three theories dominate the case. The first that Charlene was
killed by Iad Albatachian disposed of through a mincing machine.
Experts have long caution that forcing a body through commercial
equipment without leaving detectable DNA would be highly unlikely. The
(44:54):
second that Charlene was killed by Ray Munroe, a known
predator who had both opportunity and proximity, and who admitted
to indecently touching Charlene. The third that her parents were involved.
Even now some still point the finger at them. Police
say that both were interviewed and rolled out. What remains
(45:15):
is that Charlene is still missing. There is circumstantial evidence
that she's dead, but no forensic evidence ties her fate
to any single person, no body, no definite of answers,
just a case file that grows older each year. And
so we end where we began with a fourteen year
(45:36):
old girl in a seaside town, A girl who looked
younger than her age, who liked music and fashion, who
joked with friends and wandered the bright streets that promised
excitement and delivered danger. Charlene was vulnerable, marked early as
at risk, and then repeatedly left at risk by adults
(45:56):
who invited harm into her life, by systems that documented
warnings but failed to act, and by an investigation that
stumbled when it mattered the most. Well, that is it
(46:29):
for this episode of Morbidology. As always, thank you so
much for listening and I'd like to say a massive
thank you to my newest supporter up on Patreon. Nel
me the link to Patreon's in the show notes, and
you can join me there for as little as one
dollar a month. Morbidology Plus is also now up on
Apple subscriptions, where you get bonus episodes that aren't on
(46:49):
the regular podcast platforms. I've been sick for the past week,
so I apologize if my voice sounds a bit funky
in this week's episode. Remember to check Aside at morbidology
dot com for more information about this episode and to
read some true crime articles. Until next time, take care
of yourself, stay safe, and have an amazing week.
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