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[image: MailOnline - news, sport, celebrity, science and health stories]<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/> **** Mother of murdered girl ‘put into kebabs’ runs from court after gruesome testimony**** Last updated at 15:00 31 May 2007**** ** ** [image: cid:[email protected]]**** *Victim: 14 year old Charlene Downes has not been found after going missing* [image: cid:[email protected]]**** *She was allegedly killed by Iyad Albattikhi, 29, owner of Funny Boyz fast food shop in Blackpool* A mother ran from court today as she heard how her daughter was strangled before being chopped up.**** Iyad Albattikhi, 29, known as Eddie, had sex with 14-year-old Charlene Downes, before killing her and joking her body had been put into the kebabs at his shop on Blackpool Promenade, Preston Crown Court has heard.**** Today David Cassidy, a former friend of the accused, told Preston Crown Court how the defendant's brother confessed to him about the murder - and that the youngster had been throttled to death.**** Mr Cassidy, 40, who ran an amusement arcade in the town, told the jury Tariq Albattikhi had rowed with his brother and, upset and in tears, told him about how the schoolgirl had been killed.**** "He was crying," Mr Cassidy said. "He said there was a lot of blood. I was only getting a bit of the conversation through the tears.**** "He told me that she was strangled." At this point Charlene's mother, Karen Downes, sitting in the public gallery, gasped and fled the court in tears.** ** Charlene, from Buchanan Street in Blackpool, disappeared on November 1, 2003, after kissing her mother goodbye to go off with friends.**** Expelled from school, she spent most of her time hanging around the shops on the Prom, where Albattikhi owned and ran Funny Boyz kebab shop.**** A missing persons inquiry began after she vanished but police later launched a murder investigation after information "leaked out".**** No trace of Charlene's body has ever been found. Albattikhi, a Jordanian immigrant, is charged with murder and his co-accused, his business partner and landlord, Mohammed Reveshi, 50, originally from Iran, is accused of helping to dispose of the body.**** Both deny the charges and have told police they never knew Charlene. Ian Goldrein QC, defending Albattikhi suggested Mr Cassidy was telling the court a "pack of lies" and suggested the conversation never took place.**** He said the witness had a long criminal record for dishonesty stretching back to the age of 17 - and could not be relied upon to tell the truth. Mr Goldrein asked the witness why he waited months after the conversation with Tariq before he told police.**** Mr Cassidy said, "Because I did not know if what was being said to me that night was true. I had to determine whether it was hearsay or gossip." The trial continues.**** ** ** ** ** -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
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