Twenty years on from 14-year-old Charlene Downes' disappearance in Blackpool, investigators remain stumped by her vanishing into thin air. Nicola Thorp, an actress, writer and broadcaster who grew up in the town, has brought new light to the case with her podcast series, "Charlene: Somebody Knows Something".
Thorp's own background is intertwined with Charlene's, despite never having met her - their school photos were plastered around Blackpool during Charlene's disappearance. What troubles Thorp most about the initial investigation was how Charlene's family and she were stereotyped as "child prostitutes" - a label that has haunted them to this day.
The two men who initially faced trial, Iyad Albattikhi and Mohammed Reveshi, had their cases plagued by doubts over evidence. A retrial collapsed due to virtually inaudible secret tapes purportedly detailing Charlene's murder, yet the investigation remains open with a £100,000 reward for information leading to conviction.
Thorp has also delved into how racism played a part in this case - the racist narrative surrounding Albattikhi and Reveshi was exacerbated by the media. Meanwhile, Charlene may have been targeted not just by these men but also by her local community's grooming gangs.
What's most disturbing for Thorp is the resurgence of far-right activism around the topic, including a recent incident where Elon Musk retweeted a post about Charlene that repeated the salacious 'kebab girl' theory. Thorp believes that the police may be hindering their own investigations by not engaging with online sleuths effectively.
The case also sheds light on how grooming victims were intimidated into silence by police, mirroring the intimidation tactics used by the perpetrators themselves. The belief is still held that witness evidence remains to be unearthed - dozens of suspects have been identified but none prosecuted yet.
Thorp's own background is intertwined with Charlene's, despite never having met her - their school photos were plastered around Blackpool during Charlene's disappearance. What troubles Thorp most about the initial investigation was how Charlene's family and she were stereotyped as "child prostitutes" - a label that has haunted them to this day.
The two men who initially faced trial, Iyad Albattikhi and Mohammed Reveshi, had their cases plagued by doubts over evidence. A retrial collapsed due to virtually inaudible secret tapes purportedly detailing Charlene's murder, yet the investigation remains open with a £100,000 reward for information leading to conviction.
Thorp has also delved into how racism played a part in this case - the racist narrative surrounding Albattikhi and Reveshi was exacerbated by the media. Meanwhile, Charlene may have been targeted not just by these men but also by her local community's grooming gangs.
What's most disturbing for Thorp is the resurgence of far-right activism around the topic, including a recent incident where Elon Musk retweeted a post about Charlene that repeated the salacious 'kebab girl' theory. Thorp believes that the police may be hindering their own investigations by not engaging with online sleuths effectively.
The case also sheds light on how grooming victims were intimidated into silence by police, mirroring the intimidation tactics used by the perpetrators themselves. The belief is still held that witness evidence remains to be unearthed - dozens of suspects have been identified but none prosecuted yet.
. I mean, can you believe they're still not solving this? The way her family and friends were treated by the media, all those rumors about them being child prostitutes... it's just heartbreaking 
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. And that £100k reward is just a drop in the ocean compared to how much justice Charlene deserves 
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. And the fact that witness evidence is still out there, waiting to be found... it's like a nightmare that won't end 
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It's like, what even is the point of having a £100k reward if we're just gonna keep passing the buck 
And now Elon Musk is like, totally complicit by retweeting that trash 
I love how she's bringing attention to the fact that police are not engaging with online sleuths effectively 
and that there's still so much witness evidence that needs to be uncovered 
and her family deserve so much better than what they've gotten 
. I mean, I get that investigations can take time, but come on, £100k reward and all... it's like the cops are still stuck in neutral 
. And what really gets me is how the "kebab girl" theory has been perpetuated by Elon Musk and other far-right folks - it's like they're trying to revive a dead horse 
. Nicola Thorp's podcast series is actually pretty informative, but I'm still not sure why she's focusing so much on racism in this case... don't get me wrong, it's a big part of it, but wouldn't investigating the actual suspects be more important? Like, how many suspects have been identified and no one's been convicted yet? It's just common sense 
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I'm so frustrated with how this case has been handled all these years. Like, who knew that "kebab girl" theory was even a thing? 
So I'm glad that Nicola Thorp's podcast series is bringing new attention to this case...but it's wild how 20 years in, we're still no closer to finding out what happened to Charlene. And can we talk about how racist and problematic the media portrayal of those two guys was? 
like, dude get some context! seriously though, nicola thorp's podcast series is bringin new light to this case & sheddin some serious heat on the police & the media for not doin their job right. and btw can u believe there's a £100k reward for info leading to conviction? 
. It's heartbreaking to think about Charlene's family going through all this trauma for so long, just because of a series of unfortunate events and missteps in the investigation 
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. It's possible that some valuable information could be coming from people on social media who just want to help 
. And it's also worrying to hear about how witnesses were intimidated into silence, which can definitely lead to more suspects being identified but not brought to justice 
. There are people like Thorp and Charlene's family who care deeply about seeing justice served 
. Let's keep hoping for a breakthrough soon 
.