THE trial of two men accused of being behind the disappearance of Blackpool teenager Charlene Downes has been put back until April.
Charlene vanished in November 2003 after waving goodbye to her mother at a town centre bus stop. She was then aged 14.
Iyad Albattikhi, 30, the former owner of Funny Boyz kebab shop on Dickson Road, Blackpool, is charged with murdering Charlene.
His business partner Mohammed Reveshi, 51, of Hornby Road, is accused of helping dispose of the St George’s High School pupil’s body. Both deny the charges.
At a trial held last year the jury could not reach a verdict on either man. A retrial was expected to begin on January 21. But that has now been set back to April 2 to allow Albattikhi’s defence team more time to prepare.
Det Sgt Jan Beasant of Blackpool Police said: “The trial has been delayed to allow the defence to do more preparation with their witnesses. The family have been notified and are aware of the new trial date.”
A spokeswoman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “The date has changed because Mr Albattikhi has secured a new legal team who wanted more time to go through all the evidence.”
The investigation into Charlene’s whereabouts was the biggest missing person hunt in the history of Lancashire Police.
