Body in carpet murder: Court appeal to be heard in 2016

Karen Price's arms had been tied behind her back

An appeal against the conviction of two men for the "body in a carpet" killing of a teenage girl more than two decades ago will be heard next year.

Alan Charlton, 55, of Bridgwater, Somerset, and Idris Ali, 50 of Cardiff, were both convicted of murdering Karen Price, 15, and jailed in 1991.

Ali's conviction was overturned in 1994. He admitted manslaughter at a retrial and was released from jail.

The Court of Appeal said the earliest date possible was February 2016.

'Unsafe'

Karen Price had run away from a children's home in July 1981. Her remains were found by workmen in the garden of a house in Fitzhammon Embankment wrapped in a carpet in December 1989.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRW) referred the case to the appeal court over concerns about techniques used by South Wales Police to investigate the case.

The CCRW said there was a chance both Charlton's murder conviction and Ali's manslaughter verdict were unsafe.

The court heard the vulnerability of a key witness and Charlton's mental state could be key elements of the appeal case.

Lady Justice Hallett said the men's cases involved reams of documents dating back decades and hours of tape-recorded interviews.

The case has been listed for the first available date after 1 February 2016.