An academic will lead a fresh investigation into the unsolved case of a teenage girl, according to reports. Charlene Downes went missing in 2003 and, presumed murdered, her body has never been found.
Her case uncovered a disturbing dark side of Blackpool Promenade, where she took to hanging around after being excluded from school. It revealed that predators lurked in the seaside town's arcades and takeaways, exploiting children with offers of burgers, cigarettes, booze - and the promise of affection.
A botched police investigation that followed Charlene's disappearance would uncover stomach-churning claims about her fate. It was alleged that Charlene had been strangled and dismembered, that her killers had joked of having turned her into kebab meat and tiling grout - after she had 'had enough' of being exploited and threatened to go to police.
Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features.
She was last seen when she 14, leaving home with £5 pocket money on a November night. As the months passed without a sighting, the search took detectives to Oldham, Denton, and further afield to Wolverhampton - anywhere Charlene had connections.
Two men were charged, one with murder and one with helping to dispose of Charlene's body. A jury failed to reach verdicts following the 2007 trial at Preston Crown Court and a retrial was also dropped because of a flawed investigation. The police watchdog found the investigation was 'handled unprofessionally' and was plagued by a 'catalogue of errors' which undermined the court case.
Now Dr Kirsty Bennett of Leeds Trinity University will head an investigation seeking new evidence, it has been reported. She has reportedly teamed up with Ronay Crompton, from the Justice for Charlene Downes Campaign.
On her Linkedin page, Ronay says: "We are a small independent group campaigning for justice for the missing teenager Charlene Downes. We have teamed up with Leeds Trinity University Cold Case Unit and Blackburn University, on an exciting new project and the first of its kind.
"Our aims are to call on the government to launch a Public Enquiry into the shocking failings in Charlene's case. Re-investigate Charlene's case in hope of finding new information that may finally help solve the 20 year mystery.
"We are joining forces with both universities and outside organisations and professionals, on setting up a large research project looking at CSE/CSA in Lancashire. Our findings will be published publicly."
Mrs Crompton says the main aim is to review Charlene's case, identify where the failings are and to discover new evidence.
A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: "This is nothing to do with us. Our investigation remains open and anyone with information can contact us, by calling 101." A £100,000 reward remains on offer for information leading to the conviction of Charlene’s killer.
Last year Jen Jarvie, a private inspector and policing lecturer at York St. John agreed to re-examine Charlene's case after being approached by Ronay. Her work examining the 1990 killing of Darlington care worker Ann Heron was featured in a Channel 5 documentary and led to fresh evidence being uncovered - leading people to hope a similar outcome could follow from her analysis of Charlene’s case.
Speaking to LancsLive, last year, Jen said she has been contacted by members of the public about multiple cases but rarely with as much evidence and information made available as in Charlene's case. She said: “I spoke with Ronay and she’d taken it as far as she could. She’s not an expert but from what I’ve seen she’s done a phenomenal job. Now it needs someone to take it forward.
“When I spoke to Ronay, she said we’ve got the police statements, we’ve got the fact she’s working with the police. That’s a whole different ball game - I have actual substance to look through." Jen believes there were a lot of issues at the start of the case in November 2003, but the fact that Lancashire Constabulary have admitted mistakes and is "trying to make it right" is a good sign for the future of the investigation.
