Brother of schoolgirl, 14, who was ‘murdered and served as kebabs in Blackpool’ died of heroin overdose after never getting over her disappearance, inquest hears

• Robert Downes, 30, died of a heroin overdose last December at family home 
• It was 18 years after his sister Charlene, 14, vanished from Blackpool, Lancashire
• Police believe Charlene was murdered by men who were sexually abusing her
• In 2007, prosecutors claimed her body was cut up and minced into kebabs 
• ‘Robert was never the same after what happened to Charlene,’ their mother said 

The brother of a schoolgirl feared to have been murdered and cut up into a kebab meat has died of a heroin overdose after never ‘getting over’ her disappearance.

Robert Downes, 30, died last December, 18 years after his sister Charlene, 14, vanished without a trace from Blackpool, Lancashire.

Police believe Charlene was murdered by men who had been sexually abusing her but her body has never been found.

Prosecutors claimed her body was cut up and minced into kebabs and her bones crushed into tile grouting at a murder trial in 2007.

But charges were dropped when a jury was unable to reach a verdict and her heartbroken family never received justice for her.

Speaking after an inquest held into Mr Downes’s death, his heartbroken mother Karen said that he was never the same after Charlene’s disappearance.

The body of Robert Downes, 30, was discovered at the family home in Blackpool, Lancashire, on December 4 just a few hours after complaining of feeling unwell. Pictured, Robert with his sister Rebecca

She said: ‘Robert was never the same after what happened to Charlene. We never got justice.

‘It had a massive impact on all of us. He was a lovely, bubbly lad.

‘He was kind. Anybody would tell you he would do anything for anybody.’

‘But he went to prison and got clean, and I never thought he would do anything like this again.

‘He had four beautiful children to live for, three of his own and one he took on as his own.

‘He was gorgeous, he was funny, he used to make people laugh with his dry sense of humour.

‘He was doing so well. That’s why I was so shocked. All I can ask myself is why — why, why did this happen?’

The tragedy came 18 years after Charlene Downes, 14, vanished without a trace from the seaside resort, sparking one of the biggest police investigations in history

The inquest, held at Blackpool Town Hall, heard he was found dead in a pool of his own blood by his father on December 4 last year.

He was last seen alive by his mother Karen, 57, at around 6.30pm that day, the court heard.

She went to the bottom of the stairs and shouted up to her son to ask if he was okay, to which he replied ‘I’m okay, I’m just going to get my head down.’

She then fell asleep on the sofa, but was later woken up by his father Robert Sr, 60, shouting ‘Karen, Karen, Karen, he’s dead, he’s dead’, the inquest was told.

The pair, from Coventry, West Midlands, went into a state of panic and did not call emergency services until around three hours later at 2.50am on December 5.

The married-mother-of-four told the court that she had no idea her son had been using heroin after apparently quitting the drug after being sent to prison in 2019.

Robert’s father, Robert Sr, sister Rebecca and mother Karen outside the coroners court in Blackpool

Karen and Bob Downes previously appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show to speak about how the disappearance of their daughter still haunts them and has torn their family apart

She said: ‘As far as we were aware, he was clean. He seemed absolutely fine.’

His girlfriend Enya Cardwell told the court: ‘He had issues with heroin in the past but since he left prison he had really made an effort to be a better person, he went to the gym and got a job.

‘As far as I’m aware he had not taken any heroin for three years.’

Handing down a conclusion of death by misadventure, coroner Alan Wilson said: ‘We are dealing with someone who has had a history of drug use, but recently has been avoiding heroin.

‘We don’t know why he decided to use heroin on this occasion, and maybe having made that decision he used the heroin in a similar quantity to what he used to, and hasn’t taken into account that he has lost tolerance and might be more vulnerable to the toxic effects.’

Police believe Charlene was murdered by men who had been sexually abusing her but her body has never been found

His father, Robert Sr, said after the inquest that his son’s death felt like he’d ‘been stabbed with a blunt knife’.

He said: ‘There are no words. It’s around you every day. When that’s your reality, it hits home.

‘Twice now we have been put down. All we have got to do now is bounce back, but how can you?’

Robert’s sister Rebecca, 45, said the verdict had ‘thrown the family sick’ and that it ‘came as an absolute horrific shock’.

Paying tribute to her younger brother, said he was ‘spontaneous, cheeky and misunderstood.’

She added: ‘He was the only boy in the family and had three big sisters and was very cheeky, and very down to earth.

‘He has left a massive hole in everyone’s hearts. He’s with my sister and with my nana now.

‘As long as he’s at peace, then that’s what matters.’ 

Charlene’s mother Karen, pictured, said in a  documentary that she still sees 14-year-old girls and thinks they are her daughter

The police investigation into Charlene Downes’ murder  

Police believe that Charlene, pictured, was murdered and cut up before being served as kebab meat after being lured into a gang and groomed for sex

Charlene Downes, 14, had been a victim of child sex gangs in Blackpool, many of them centred on takeaway restaurants.

Police believe she was sexually abused by as many as 100 men in the run-up to her death.

In 2007 two business partners were tried for murdering Charlene and disposing of her body using a mincing machine, before putting it into kebabs.

However, a jury failed to reach a verdict and the case collapsed. Iyad Albattikhi and Mohammed Reveshi later received six-figure compensation sums for false imprisonment.

In 2013, to mark the tenth anniversary of Charlene’s disappearance, police announced they had appointed a dedicated full-time senior investigating officer to the case.

In 2016 a cold case team revisited the investigation and discovered CCTV footage of Charlene walking with her sister Rebecca on the day she vanished.

It was finally released on the 13th anniversary of her disappearance in November 2016 and again for a fresh appeal on the BBC’s Crimewatch Live Roadshow.

Last year, a 51-year-old man was arrested after being first quizzed by police in the year she went missing. Over the years, police have made five arrests on suspicion of Charlene’s murder but all have been freed without charge.

Mohammed Reveshi received six-figure compensation sums for false imprisonment

Mohammed Reveshi and Iyad Albattikhi were tried for murdering Charlene and disposing of her body using a mincing machine, before putting it into kebabs. Pictured, Mohammed Reveshi 

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