How a gruesome urban myth derailed the search for missing Blackpool schoolgirl Charlene Downes

The horrific claim that a young murder victim’s body was dismembered as a takeaway kebab has undermined efforts to catch the killer for years, the Daily Mail’s intriguing new podcast has revealed.

More than two decades ago, 14-year-old Charlene Downes vanished without a trace from her hometown of Blackpool.

Police believe she was killed by men who groomed and sexually assaulted her in the Lancashire seaside resort.

But despite police receiving a £100,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of her killer, no one has ever been brought to justice.

Now, ahead of the 22nd anniversary of her disappearance on Saturday, A new eight-part Daily Mail podcastThe programme, hosted by actress and campaigner Nicola Thorp, reveals testimony that definitively refutes the kebab theory.

The senior investigating officer admitted in an exclusive interview with the soap scheduled to air today that “evidence” of how Charlene’s body was disposed of was “not available” and “not true”.

Nicola, who appeared in Coronation Street as Nicola Rubinstein, the secret daughter of soap villain Pat Phelan, was born at the same time as Charlene and grew up less than a mile from her home in Blackpool.

He says the ‘kebab girl’ story is not only a ‘false and damaging narrative’ but also a dangerous distraction from the mission to find her killer.

As part of his landmark research, Charlene: Someone Knows SomethingNicola interviewed key figures in the long-running case; They included one of the main suspects, as well as the female student’s friends and family.

He also spoke with witnesses whose voices had been ignored or unheard for decades, uncovering potentially important new leads.

Nicola hopes these will eventually help Charlene’s friends and family find answers and fulfill their long-running campaign for justice.

Charlene, described as ‘a cheerful, cheeky teenager with an infectious smile’, was last seen by her mother Karen, who was handing out leaflets for an Indian restaurant in the town, on the evening of 1 November 2003.

Charlene promised her mother she wouldn’t return home late, but she never returned, and two days later Mrs. Downes reported her missing.

The family said police initially did not take the missing persons report seriously.

But that changed when police officers uncovered evidence linking Charlene to a grooming ring network.

It later emerged that up to 60 schoolgirls as young as 11 were offered food, alcohol and cigarettes in exchange for sexual favors by workers in seedy takeaway restaurants.

Jordanian kebab shop owner Iyad Albattikhi and his landlord Mohammed Raveshi, originally from Iran, became the prime suspects in Charlene’s murder, but there was no physical evidence linking them to the crime.

Ahead of the 22nd anniversary of Charlene’s disappearance, a new Daily Mail podcast hosted by campaigner Nicola Thorp (pictured) reveals evidence debunking the kebab theory

Nicola (pictured), who appears as Nicola Rubinstein in Coronation Street, was born at the same time as Charlene and grew up less than a mile from her home in Blackpool.

Instead, detectives were given permission to eavesdrop on Mr. Raveshi’s home and car and record hours of conversations between the two men.

Mr. Albattikhi, then 29, was eventually charged with murdering Charlene, while Mr. Raveshi, 50, was accused of helping to dispose of the body.

Prosecutors sensationally claimed they killed him and disposed of his remains using a meat grinder before putting them in takeaway kebabs.

The men’s trial at Preston Crown Court in 2007 focused on meticulously compiled transcripts of their conversations, including an apparent discussion of Charlene’s murder.

But recordings of conversations in heavily accented voices were difficult to distinguish, and some were barely audible over the volume of a nearby television.

Jurors were unable to reach a verdict for either man and they were both awarded £250,000 in damages after a retrial failed due to what the police watchdog called a ‘catalogue of errors’.

The podcast discusses how the police’s claim that they recorded one of the men saying ‘why did you kill him’ has been disputed by different expert forensic audiologists who cannot even agree on who said what on the recordings.

Speaking on the podcast, Detective Superintendent Gareth Willis has a clear statement.

“The evidence of the secret material relied upon in court has been fatally refuted and is untrue, untrue,” the senior investigating officer told Nicola.

‘So we all accept that this evidence does not exist.

‘It has been independently reviewed and what has been documented as fact is not actually true.’

Nicola says: ‘If my research for this podcast yields results, I hope it will put an end to this false and damaging narrative.

‘Not just because it’s a lie, but because a missing 14-year-old girl, the victim of child sexual abuse, deserves better than being reduced to a piece of meat in a headline.’

Charlene: The first two episodes of Somebody Knows Something are available now wherever you get your podcasts – or you can grab the entire series now at: www.thecrimedesk.com.