A BRIDGWATER man jailed for his role in a notorious child killing must wait until next year to have his appeal heard.
Alan Charlton, who has spent 24 years in prison for the murder of a 15-year-old girl, has had his case referred back to the Court of Appeal following an investigation by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
His co-accused Adris Ali is also to have his case reviewed.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission said there was a “real possibility the Court of Appeal would decide the convictions were ‘unsafe’.
Children’s home resident, Karen Price, 15, was killed and her body found wrapped in a carpet on Fitzhamon Embankment, Cardiff, in 1989. She had last been seen in July 1981, when she had run away from her children’s home.
Charlton, 55, of Bridgwater, and Ali, 50, of Cardiff, were convicted in 1991 and jailed over the killing, but are now appealing. But, in a preliminary hearing in London, three top judges said their case would not be heard until at least February next year.
Lady Justice Hallett said the men’s cases involve reams of documents dating back decades and hours of tape-recorded interviews.
The cases are due in court after a reference by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the body which investigates potential miscarriages of justice.
The CCRC says there is a chance that Charlton’s murder conviction and Ali’s manslaughter verdict are ‘unsafe’.
It has previously been revealed that part of the appeals will revolve around the detectives who were involved in the inquiry. The CCRC raised concerns about “oppressive” tactics used by the detectives in the case, breaches of police rules regarding detention, treatment and questioning and the credibility of prosecution witnesses Craig Macgregor, for Charlton, said the ‘vulnerability’ of a key prosecution witness could be central. Charlton’s mental state could also feature, he said, as there are suggestions he was not actually fit to stand trial.
“If we look at Charlton now, he suffers from a mental health problem,” he said.
“From that, the psychiatrist may be able to discover what he was like that at the time of the trial. He is now suffering from a bipolar condition.”
The court heard the case was originally due to be listed as early as December, but Lady Justice Hallett said that could not happen.
“Realistically, this is more likely to be January onwards,” she said, adding: “We are having to factor in two weeks, one week reading, one week hearing. It would be very tight before Christmas’.
But she added: ‘“We need to get this matter resolved as soon as possible.”
The court ordered that the appeals be listed on the first available date after February 1 next year.
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