In England, 14 year old Charlene Downes was murdered by two Muslim Jordanains and turned into Kebab meat and sold. And British police, surprise surprise, blew the whole process, the two were released. Now the process is being rolled up again... (hat tip Alex)
Police investigating the disappearance of a teenage girl allegedly 'chopped up' for kebab meat have been criticised for a catalogue of failures which led to the collapse of a murder retrial.
An independent review found that police surveillance techniques were 'handled
poorly and unprofessionally' and as a result nobody is now likely to be
convicted of killing Charlene Downes, 14, who was last seen in 2003.
Her mother today said she felt 'badly let down' after the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) recommended that seven officers should be disciplined over the matter.
Charlene was last seen on November 1, 2003 when she kissed her mother goodbye and went to see friends on Blackpool Promenade.
Two men appeared at Preston Crown Court in 2007 in connection with her alleged murder but the jury was discharged after it failed to reach verdicts.
The prosecution claimed the murder suspect was overheard talking about having sex with the teenager and that she had 'gone into kebabs'.
A retrial was scheduled to begin a year later but the Crown Prosecution eventually dropped the case because it had 'grave doubts' about the reliability of some of the evidence.
Iyad Albattikhi, 31, was formally cleared of Charlene's murder and Mohammed Raveshi, 51, was acquitted of helping to dispose of her body.
Charlene's mother, Karen Downes, of Blackpool, said she was 'devastated' at the findings of the police watchdog.
'We feel badly let down by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service,' she said.
Grieving: Charleen's parents Karen and Robert Downes feel 'badly let down' by the deficiencies of the police investigation into their daughter's disappearance
'We're no further on, we're back to square one. There is no closure.
'I was devastated when I saw the report. It's very upsetting.'
Lancashire Police apologised to the Downes family but said it remained a live investigation and its officers were still committed to solving the case.
The investigating team were guilty of a strategic and tactical failure in the management of the audio and video material they obtained, the IPCC concluded.
Proper records were not kept, material was not fully transcribed and the overall integrity of the material was not ensured.
The use of untrained and inexperienced officers in the inquiry was also criticised as was the way a human intelligence source was handled.
The IPCC recommended that one officer should face a disciplinary hearing, one should receive a written warning and five others should receive words of advice.
Funny Boyz takeaway: Owner Iyad Albattikhi was cleared of Charlene's murder because the Crown Prosecution had 'grave doubts' about the reliability of some of the evidence
