The chilling handwritten letters found in lacking Blackpool schoolgirl Charlene Downes’ bed room – and why they continue to be unexplained 22 years later

The latest episode of a gripping Daily Mail podcast explores the mystery of two threatening letters found in the bedroom of Charlene Downes after she vanished from the streets of Blackpool two decades ago.

Charlene Downes, 14, went missing on 1 November 2003. 

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

Two men, Iyad Albattikhi and Mohammed Raveshi, stood trial in 2007 in connection with her murder. The case collapsed the following year due to serious concerns over the reliability of the evidence against them. Both men later received £250,000 compensation.

Charlene Downes, 14, went missing in November 2003

Police believe she was killed by men who had been grooming and sexually abusing her in Blackpool

Albattikhi, a Jordanian national who ran the local Funny Boyz takeaway, was charged with Charlene’s murder. He has always maintained he never met the missing schoolgirl.

During the trial, some local girls testified that Charlene had visited his takeaway on multiple occasions, though this evidence was later questioned.

In her new podcast revisiting the case, campaigner Nicola Thorp investigates aspects of the initial investigation that remain unexplained – including two disturbing letters found in Charlene’s bedroom after she vanished.

The letters were not deemed a serious lead by police. They believed at the time that Charlene may have written them herself.

Segments of the letters read: ‘I have been watching you… you should be in a box in the ground. Get out of Blackpool because I am ready to put you below, still alive.’

Thorp’s investigation examines an intriguing detail: the letters mention someone called ‘Eddie’, the nickname by which Albattikhi was known to local girls.

She said: ‘The police found the letters after Charlene disappeared. They were addressed to her and full of insults and threats.

‘After some investigation, it seems the police didn’t think they were serious leads.

‘It’s unclear exactly who wrote these letters. They may have been written as a joke or as some kind of playground bullying.

‘Are these letters a sign of a link between Charlene and Albattikhi?’

During the making of the series, Albattikhi contacted Thorp to decline a recorded interview. He has never spoken directly to the media before.

In her new podcast revisiting the case, campaigner Nicola Thorp (pictured) investigates aspects of the initial investigation that remain unexplained

He also chose not to take the stand during the murder trial.

Albattikhi repeated his denial of ever knowing Charlene and insisted those that claim otherwise are ‘mistaken or lying’.

Summarising their phone call, Thorp recounted: ‘Albattikhi had heard I was asking around about him. He wanted to ask why.

‘I explained I was investigating the case and what I really wanted to ask him about was a question that had stuck with me: whether he had known Charlene.

‘I have spoken to so many women who insisted he had. Many had said as much on the stand in court.

‘He repeated that he was not responsible for Charlene’s disappearance and again, denied ever knowing her.

‘He told me that the women I had spoken to must be mistaken, or they’re lying.

‘Maybe one day he will tell his side of the story in his own words.

‘It says something about how this case sticks with the people connected to it that even a man who refused to speak about it for years couldn’t help but get in touch to find out what was going on.’

The first three episodes of Charlene: Somebody Knows Something are available right now wherever you get your podcasts – or get the whole series immediately at www.thecrimedesk.com.