The brother of a schoolgirl who was feared murdered and cut into 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, went missing from Blackpool, Lancashire.
Police believe Charlene was murdered by men who sexually assaulted her, but her body has never been found.
Prosecutors alleged that her body had been dismembered and chopped into skewers and that her bones had been crushed into tile grout in a 2007 murder trial.
But the charges were dropped when a jury failed to reach a verdict and her heartbroken family never got justice for her.
After an inquest into Mr Downes’s death, his heartbroken mother Karen said he was never the same after Charlene’s disappearance.
The body of Robert Downes, 30, was discovered on December 4 at his family home in Blackpool, Lancashire, just hours after he complained that he was 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 huge impact on all of us. He was a sweet, cheerful boy.
“He was nice. Anyone would tell you he would do anything for anyone.”
“But he went to jail and got clean, and I never thought he’d do something like that again.
“He had four beautiful children to live for, three of his own and one that he took up for himself.
“He was beautiful, he was funny, he made people laugh with his dry sense of humor.
“He did 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, disappeared without a trace from the seaside town, sparking one of the largest police investigations in history
The inquest, held at Blackpool town hall, learned that he was found dead by his father in a pool of his own blood on December 4 last year.
He was last seen alive by his mother Karen, 57, around 6:30 p.m. that day, the court heard.
She went to the bottom of the stairs and yelled at 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 awakened by his father Robert Sr, 60, shouting ‘Karen, Karen, Karen, he’s dead, he’s dead,’ the inquest was told.
The couple, from Coventry, West Midlands, panicked and didn’t call 911 until about three hours later at 2:50am on December 5.
The married mother of four told the court she had no idea her son had used heroin after he apparently quit the drug after being sent to jail in 2019.
Robert’s father, Robert Sr, sister Rebecca and mother Karen outside the coroner’s court in Blackpool
Karen and Bob Downes were previously featured on The Jeremy Kyle Show to share how their daughter’s disappearance still haunts them and has torn their family apart
She said, ‘As far as we knew, it was clean. He seemed all right.’
His girlfriend Enya Cardwell told the court: “He had problems with heroin in the past, but since he got out of prison he had really worked hard to become a better person, he went to the gym and got a job.
“To my knowledge, he hasn’t taken heroin in three years.”
Coroner Alan Wilson said: ‘We are dealing with someone who has used drugs in the past but has recently avoided heroin.
“We don’t know why he decided to use heroin on this occasion, and maybe after he made that decision he took the heroin in a similar amount as before, not taking into account that he’s lost his tolerance.” and may be more vulnerable to the toxic effects.’
Police believe Charlene was murdered by men who sexually assaulted her, but her body has never been found
His father, Robert Sr, said after the investigation that his son’s death felt like he had been “stabbed with a blunt knife.”
He said, ‘There are no words. It is around you every day. If that’s your reality, it hits home.
“We’ve been put down twice now. All we have to do now is bounce back, but how can you do that?’
Robert’s sister Rebecca, 45, said the verdict “made the family sick” and that it was “an absolute horrible shock.”
As a tribute to her younger brother, she 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 left a huge hole in everyone’s heart. He is now with my sister and my grandmother.
“As long as he’s at peace, that’s the most important thing.”
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 the murder of Charlene Downes
Police believe Charlene, pictured, was murdered and dismembered before being served as kebab meat after being lured into a gang and groomed for sex
Charlene Downes, 14, had been the victim of child sex gangs in Blackpool, many of them targeting takeaways.
Police believe she was sexually assaulted by as many as 100 men in the run-up to her death.
In 2007, two business associates were tried for the murder of Charlene and the disposal of her body using a chopper before stuffing it into kebabs.
However, a jury failed to reach a verdict and the case collapsed. Iyad Albattikhi and Mohammed Reveshi later received six-figure damages for false imprisonment.
In 2013, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Charlene’s disappearance, police announced that they had appointed a dedicated full-time senior investigating officer to the case.
In 2016, a cold case team re-examined the investigation and discovered CCTV footage of Charlene walking with her sister Rebecca the day she disappeared.
It was finally released on the 13th anniversary of her disappearance in November 2016 and again for another call on the BBC’s Crimewatch Live Roadshow.
Last year, a 51-year-old man was arrested after being questioned for the first time by police the year she went missing. Over the years, police have made five arrests on suspicion of Charlene’s murder, but all have been released without charge.
Mohammed Reveshi received six-figure damages for false jail time
Mohammed Reveshi and Iyad Albattikhi were tried for murdering Charlene and disposing of her body using a chopper before stuffing it into kebabs. Pictured, Mohammed Reveshi