Karen Price was just 15 years old when she was brutally killed by a nightclub bouncer before being wrapped in a carpet, buried, and left undiscovered for almost 10 years.
When her body was discovered by workmen renovating a house in Cardiff all that was left was her skeletal remains.
It would be another two years before her killer Alan Charlton was brought to justice after his trial heard horrific details about how Karen was forced to work as a prostitute.
Cardiff Crown Court also heard how Karen, who escaped from a children's home, met her demise in 1981 when Charlton flew into a rage when she refused to have sex with another underage girl.
With the help of Idris Ali, who held Karen's hands as she was strangled by Charlton, the teenager's body was buried and was left in a shallow grave until the morbid discovery in 1989.
The chilling murder of this innocent young girl was one of the most shocking criminal acts to have taken place in Wales.
Here we look back at the story of Karen's life, her awful murder, the discovery of her body, the fight to bring her killers to justice, and the subsequent appeals against their sentences.
Karen's early life was described as "sad case" after she was taken into care at an early age and was pushed "from pillar to post".
She was a resident at the Maes-yr-Eglwys assessment centre in Pontypridd shortly before her death and was a pupil at the Greenhill Special School in Rhiwbina, where she met Ali.
In July 1981 Karen left the assessment centre and didn't return. It was the last time she was seen alive by those responsible for her care. Shortly after leaving the centre her disappearance was reported but it would be a long time before anyone discovered the gruesome reality of what had actually happened to her.
In December 1989 workmen Sidney Williams, Keith Lloyd, Bill David, and Paul Bodenham were working in the garden of 27-29 Fitzhamon Embankment in Riverside, Cardiff.
They were digging a trench using pickaxes and shovels to lay pipes and had gone down about six inches when uncovered the corner of an orange-red carpet. Using their hands the builders scraped the earth away and pulled out the large bundle.
Speaking at the time Mr Bodenham said: "I had an awful feeling there was a body in there.
"We unwrapped the carpet and saw part of the body, which was covered in polythene. There wasn't much left of it – just a lot of bones.
"We didn't see the head. As soon as we saw the bones we left it alone and called the police.
"The body was half-naked. She had some sort of greyish-coloured sweatshirt on but that was all."
A murder investigation was launched by police and the body was exhumed. Police described the body as belonging to a white teenage woman who was 5ft 4ins tall and was wearing a grey sweatshirt, pink and white striped socks, and gold stud earrings.
It was determined by entomologists who studied insect eggs around the site that the girl had been there for around 10 years.
In order to discover the identity of the body which had been discovered facial reconstruction artist Richard Neave used the skull to create a clay model of the head. This led to two social workers contacting the police to identify the model's likeness to Karen.
DNA samples were also taken from Karen's parents which matched with the body and, combined with the facial reconstruction, allowed for the body to be identified as Karen Price.
On February 15, 1990, the investigation into Karen's murder was featured on the BBC's Crimewatch programme in which actress Jenni Harper portrayed Karen and showed her walking round her known haunts.
The programme led to police receiving a call from married father-of-one Idris Ali, of Birchgrove, Cardiff, who wanted to get something off of his chest. He told officers: "[It's] been playing on my mind for 10 years."
In his first three statements to police Ali said he and Karen were friendly with each other in school and he developed a "crush" on her. He had suggested to her to "sell her body" for money and effectively became her pimp.
Ali, then aged 16, said he took Karen and a 13-year-old girl, referred to as Miss X, to the flat of Alan Charlton, a "muscle man" and bouncer who worked at Cardiff nightclub Excel, at 29 Fitzhamon Embankment in 1981 for a sex party.
He said Charlton, then 21, had suggested Karen and Miss X could make money at the party where they encountered "various sexual activity and lesbianism".
During the party Ali said he left the girls and smoked cannabis but Karen later returned and gave him £155 from her and Miss X of which he gave £55 to Charlton.
Ali said "blue" films were shown at Charlton's flat and Charlton wanted the Karen and Miss X to strip off so he could take photographs. But when they refused Ali said Charlton "went like a mad man".
He said he tried to help Karen but Charlton intervened and made him hold Karen's hands down while the bouncer strangled her.
He told police he later held a mirror to Karen's nose and mouth to see if she was breathing and felt for a pulse but couldn't find one. He realised she was dead and felt "very frightened".
Charlton then threatened to "take [Ali] down with him" if he didn't help to dispose of the body. He returned to the flat four fays later, describing the stench as "unbelievable". He claimed to have helped dig the grave during the day then carried Karen's body, wrapped in a carpet, into it after dark.
In a later interview Ali said Charlton made him strangle Karen then forced him to have sex with her corpse and cut her face with a kitchen knife. He said Charlton was a "psycho" and everyone was scared of him.
Miss X, who attended Maes-yr-Eglwys assessment centre with Karen, also spoke to police. She said in July 1981 she, Karen, and Ali went to Charlton's flat where they danced and sniffed glue. When Charlton asked the girl to go to bed naked and "perform a lesbian act" so he could take photographs Miss X refused. Charlton slapped her and Karen shouted at him to leave Miss X alone.
Miss X said Charlton went "berserk" and repeatedly hit Karen. When he had stopped there was blood trickling from Karen's mouth and she was out cold. She said Charlton said: "Oh God, she's dead."
It was then claimed Charlton had sex with Karen's dead body and forced Ali to do the same while Miss X was made to watch.
Both Charlton and Ali were subsequently charged with murder. During their trial at Cardiff Crown Court in February 1991 Miss X said: "He punched [Karen] on the floor as she was curled up in a ball. He just kept hitting her so fast."
She said she did not see Ali take part in the attack but he tried to pull Charlton off his victim. She said: "I thought Ali was just as scared as me." She said Charlton put a polythene bag over Karen's head and had sex with her.
Miss X added: "I though it was sick." She then described Charlton as a "psychopath" and a "Jekyll and Hyde" character.
Also giving evidence during the trial Ali pointed his finger at Charlton from the witness box and said: "He did it. He killed my best friend."
Describing Charlton's attack on Karen he said: "He started hitting her when on the floor. He picked her up by the throat and started punching her. I tried to pull him off but he back-handed me. I was frightened for my life."
He said Charlton then tied Karen's hands with wire, removed her jeans, and had sex with her lifeless body. After this Ali said Charlton threw him to the bed and told him to have sex with Karen's body as well.
Ali claimed he pulled down his trousers and "pretended" to have sex with the body. He said: "I felt sick and frightened".
When asked why he had not told police about this he said: "How can I explain to my family and my wife what took place? I am ashamed of it."
He said he had decided to come forward after the Crimewatch documentary because "it had been playing on his mind for nearly 10 years". He also claimed Charlton was solely responsible for Karen's death and he had lied to police about holding Karen's hands down.
Charlton, who had moved to Bridgwater, Somerset, denied outright any involvement in Karen's death in police interviews and refused to give evidence during the trial but during a courtroom outburst he said "this is a set-up" and when he tried to leave the dock he shouted: "I don't intend to come back. I don't recognise the court."
Charlton and Ali were both found guilty of Karen's murder with the jury taking just five hours to reach a unanimous verdict. Charlton was sentenced to life imprisonment while Ali was ordered to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure.
Passing sentence the judge Mr Justice Rose said: "You have both been convicted of the appalling murder of a 15-year-old girl and you have been convicted on overwhelming evidence.
"Because of the passage of years and the numerous lies that both of you told it will probably never be known precisely what the sequence of event was that to this girl's murder. But clearly you both took part in it. I am sure your part, Alan Charlton, was the major role."
Speaking after the sentencing detective superintendent Neale Evans of South Wales CID described Charlton as a "devious and intelligent individual" who "ruled by fear".
He added: "He was an impressive personality and there is no doubt he influenced the teenagers in more way than one. He is a stranger to the truth and I do not know if he has a conscience. He is a perverted individual and he has got his just reward."
In 1994 an appeal was launched by Charlton and Ali in a bid to get their convictions quashed.
In the case of Charlton his appeal was dismissed but Ali's conviction for murder was quashed and he pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
In his retrial it was argued that Ali suffered from "significant intellectual impairment" and "borderline mental handicap".
A basis of plea was made by Ali's barristers which was accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service. The basis stated that during Charlton's attack on Karen Ali tried to pull him off but was struck by Charlton and forced under threat of violence to hold her hands while he continued to slap and punch her.
It also stated that Ali was forced to simulate sex with the body of Karen by Charlton – an act he "felt sickened" by.
As a result of the appeal Ali was sentenced to five years imprisonment but was released from prison immediately in 1994, having served four years of his sentence.
In 2014 a further appeal was launched and the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) referred Charlton's and Ali's convictions to the Court of Appeal. The CCRC said there was chance the verdicts in the case of both men were "unsafe".
The case came to the Court of Appeal in 2016 where lawyers for the men claimed police officers involved in the investigation "put pressure" on key trial witnesses.
During the three-day hearing the court heard some of the officers in the case had also worked on the 1988 murder of Cardiff prostitute Lynette White – which later triggered an investigation into alleged police corruption.
Charlton and Ali’s lawyers said that had jurors known about some of the police conduct in the Lynette White case at the time of their trial they might have reached different verdicts.
Charlton's barrister, Louise Blackwell QC, said there was evidence to suggest that during the investigation into Karen’s death officers developed a “theory” and then interviewed witnesses based upon it.
It was also argued the evidence of Miss X –in that hearing referred to as D – could not be relied upon and without her evidence the prosecution had no case.
But the court was urged to uphold Charlton’s murder conviction and Ali’s admission of manslaughter as there was no evidence any of the officers involved in the Karen Price investigation had breached police standards..
In a 12-second hearing Lady Justice Hallett, sitting with Mr Justice Nicol and Mr Justice Coulson, delivered a written judgement and ruled that the appeal was dismissed.
Charlton, now 59, remains behind bars.
