Channel 5 revisits the 'Little Miss Nobody' Karen Price case in Buried Secrets: The Body in the Carpet

Eight years after she vanished, the discovery of 15-year-old Karen Price's body in Cardiff's Fitzhamon Embankment district marked a grisly chapter in Welsh crime history. The teen, who had been in care since age 10 and was nicknamed 'Little Miss Nobody,' was found December 7, 1989, wrapped in a blanket and buried in a shallow grave behind a basement flat at number 29.

With DNA testing in its early days, investigators relied on a blend of traditional detective work and evolving forensic science to identify the remains and locate a suspect. Dentists examined dental structures to estimate age and sex, and forensic experts noted signs of blunt force trauma in the teeth. The case relied on a series of leads, old files, and new techniques to narrow the field when the body's identity could not be established from missing-person records.

Police later built a timeline indicating Karen's death likely occurred between 1982 and 1984, based on blowfly larvae found in the carpet. This estimate allowed investigators to examine past residents of the flat and to assemble a list of potential suspects. The case gained momentum when two social workers contacted investigators with information that pointed to Karen Price's identity.

Using a skull cast, facial reconstruction artist Richard Neave produced a likeness of how Karen may have looked in life, and the image was released publicly. A forensic dentist, Professor David Whittaker, later tracked down Karen's dental records in a north Cardiff surgery, and the match confirmed the identity, clearing the path to pursue those connected to her final months.

Authorities then examined links to the residents of the basement flat. They identified Alan Charlton, a local bouncer described as having a habit of exploiting young girls, and Idris Ali, a former friend who had introduced Karen to Charlton. Investigators learned that Karen and another 13-year-old girl were brought to Charlton's party at the basement flat, where they were asked to strip and pose for photographs. When witness D refused, she was struck, and Karen intervened but was fatally wounded by a blow to the head.

Charlton and Ali were jailed in 1991 for Karen Price's murder. Ali's conviction was later quashed after he admitted manslaughter, and he served about 3 years and 10 months before release. Charlton received a life sentence, and his appeals were ultimately rejected in 2016.

Detective Paul Fenton, a member of the initial investigation team, recalled that police worked under difficult conditions in the pre-DNA era: 'Right from the word go, all we had were skeletal remains; we didn't have social media. We didn't have all the things that you have now, like CCTV. We had nothing other than basic good police work.'

Forensic identification expert Tobias Houlton of the University of Dundee said Price's case helped legitimize the use of social reconstruction in modern investigations, a technique that later gained broader acceptance in public appeals.

Channel 5's Buried Secrets: The Body in the Carpet will air at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, offering viewers a detailed look at the investigation and its impact on how cold cases are pursued in Wales.