26/02/2014 BBC Wales Today

man jailed for murder in Cardiff 23 years ago has been referred to the

Court of Appeal because of concerns about techniques used by police.

Alan Charlton is serving a life sentence for killing 15-year-old

Karen Price. South Wales Police say they can't comment at this stage.

The grim discovery was made on seven December 1989. The skeletal remains

of a young girl wrapped in an offcut of carpet. She had had her hands

tied behind her back, a plastic bag placed over her head. The body was

so decomposed identification was impossible. The pathologist was able

to tell the police the victim had been a teenage girl, but nothing

more. That is when he enlisted the help of Professor Sir Richard Neave

who was able to create a clay facial reconstruction of her skull.

You may not have known this girl by name, but do you recall her...

The ground-breaking technique worked. Someone did recognise her.

It was 15-year-old Karen Price who disappeared from a children's home

in Pontypridd in July 1981. Other techniques used were DMA for

the first time, DNA used on bone marrow.

The police investigation then centred on who had been living in

the bedsits at the time of the murder. Just a year after the body

was discovered, Alan Charlton was convicted at Cardiff Crown Court

alongside Idris Ali who had been Karen's pimp. A subsequent appeal by

Charlton failedl, but Idris Ali's conviction was quashed and a retrial

ordered when he admitted manslaughter. 23 years on, there are

question marks over the safety of Alan Charlton's conviction.

Following a lengthy investigation by the Criminal Cases Review

Commission, they have referred the case into the court of appeal. The

CCRC say there are case into the court of appeal. The

the alleged oppressive handling of key witnesses and alleged breaches

of police regulations. While no individuals have been named, the

CCRC say a number of the same officers also investigated two

notorious cases that resulted in miscarriages of justice, the murders

of Annettee White and Philip Saunders.

Of all the people that write into this criminal review body, only one

case in 25 is referred to the court of appeal. But of the cases that are

referred to the Court of Appeal, about three quarters are actually

overturned by the court of appeal. In other words, the review

commission would not send this case to the appeal judges in London if

they didn't think there was a significant possibility that Alan

Charlton would be cleared. Alan Charlton was sentenced to life

for Karen Price's murder. The judge recommended he serve at least 15

years. 23 years later, he remains behind bars awaiting this new

appeal. The family of a severely premature

baby from Pembrokeshire say they're taking legal action against the NHS

Trust in Bristol where their son died. Rohan Rhodes was born 15 weeks

early and transferred to St Michaels Hospital for specialist heart

surgery, but died less than two days later. A coroner ruled there were

missed opportunities to monitor his condition more closely. The trust

has apologised and said safety systems have since been introduced.

has apologised and said safety The Welsh NHS is paying for some

cardiac patients to be treated at English hospitals, including a

private clinic, to help reduce the waiting list for heart surgery here.

It follows concerns from the Royal College of Surgeons that too many

patients were dying, waiting for treatment. The Welsh government says

it'll spend ?1.3 million over the next two years to upgrade cardiac

theatres at the University Hospital of Wales.

A boat building company says it's in danger of going into administration.

Mustang Marine, based at Pembroke Port, employs over 100 people. It

opened a new ?1.5 million building last year and was hailed as the

first major investment in Milford Haven Waterway Enterprise Zone. The

company says it's expected to find out more in the next few days.

Following recent storms, dozens of dead sea birds have been found along

some of Pembrokeshire's dead sea birds have been found along

Experts say rough seas have meant the birds, such as puffins and

guillemots, have been unable to feed properly.

Birds washed up by the sea after last night's high tide. Razorbills

and guillemots mostly. They have been unable to feed and are

malnourished after weeks of storms. Wildlife trust staff who are wardens

during the summer months are combing the beaches to try to establish just

how many have perished. Even if these deaths do not yet

number in the hundreds, there are concerns that wild sea bird colonies

are being badly hit. This winter has been unusual and it's been one of

the worst winters, as we all know, for storms. The birds struggle to

cope in that kind of weather out at sea. After two months of Atlantic

storms, there are real fears that this winter is killing even more

birds than after the Sea Empress crashed 18 years ago, as well as the

Brer oil disaster combined. Tens of thousands of tonnes of crude oil

spilling on the beach is still considered a disaster, but this

winter's impact could be worse. In France, 11,000 dead sea birds

have been counted. Earlier this month, the French ecology minister

saw the birds for himself. Some have been found with the rings around

their legs confirming that they usually nest and breed on Skomer and

Skokholm. The numbers are quite extreme. The majority of these birds

might be adults. We might see a direct impact on breeding numbers

and population. The islands of Skomer and Skokholm are home to over

20,000 puffins as well as 28,000 guillemots and 9000 razorbills. One

of the most important colonies of cliff nesting sea birds in southern

Britain. When the birds return in May and June, the likelihood may be

that there will be fewer of them. It's been confirmed tonight that

there Plas Madoc Leaisure centre in Wrexham will no longer be run by the

council. And in CaerphillY, councillors have voted through more

than ?14 million of cuts. Snooker, and Mark Williams has

beaten the current world number one, Neil Robertson, in the third round

of the Welsh Open. Williams came from behind to win 4-3 and will play

Marco Fu in the fourth round tomorrow. But Dominic Dale and

Matthew Stevens are out. Time for the weather forecast now.

And the rain is back, Derek? Yes, it is. Rain is already into the

south and south-west and crossing into the rest of the country by

midnight. A spell of heavy rain with gusty windss. Tomorrow, I can

promise you some sunshine, but gusty windss. Tomorrow, I can

out for heavy showers as well. The weather will be quite nice, dry and

bright with some sunshine. But showers reaching Pembrokeshire by

around ten o'clock in the morning. Across the rest of the UK, rain

clearing away into the North Sea. A little snow on hills and mountains.

Parts of Scotland and England will enjoy a dry afternoon. Some showers

in Wales tomorrow afternoon, some of them heavy. Those showers will

gradually ease and a dry start for the evening. The forecast for

tomorrow night into Friday is a little tricky, depending on what

track this area of low pressure takes. We could have rain, sleet and

snow on higher ground. There could be snow coming down to lower levels

on Friday before it gradually moves away. For the weekend, some showers

are likely on Saturday. Sunday should be drier and brighter with

some sunshine. After a very wet and mild winter, it looks like we are in

for a chilly start to March. We'll have updates from around 6.25

in the morning. Good night.