Robbed of justice by a coward
As suspects walk free, Scarlett’s mother blasts ‘despicable’ UK witness who refused to testify
A GRIEVING mother denounced a British tourist as a ‘despicable coward’ for failing to testify against two men yesterday cleared of murdering her daughter.
Without the evidence of Michael Mannion, they were found not guilty of drugging, raping and killing 15-year-old Scarlett Keeling in Goa.
Her bruised and battered body was found on the shore at the resort in India in 2008 with alcohol, cocaine, ecstasy and LSD in her bloodstream.
Mr Mannion, 44, had claimed to have seen one of the suspects lying on top of Scarlett in a beach bar car park shortly before she died. His statement would have formed an integral part of the case against his friend and local barman Samson D’Souza, 30, and Placido Carvalho, 42.
But Mr Mannion, a carpenter nicknamed ‘Masala Mike’, did not return to India from his home in Brighton to take the stand and his evidence was dismissed.
Last night the teenager’s mother Fiona McKeown, 53, claimed he had ignored her repeated telephone pleas to testify.
She said: ‘ He’s a despicable coward. He promised he’d come back as a witness, and didn’t.
‘I hold him partially responsible for this lack of guilty verdict. He let Scarlett down the first time when he drove off and left her there with these guys, and he’s just let her down again badly.’
Miss McKeown, a mother-of-nine from Bideford, Devon, vowed to continue fighting for justice despite the end of the six-year court case.
‘Somebody murdered my daughter and someone needs to be held accountable,’ she said.
‘Medical evidence confirms she was grievously assaulted, raped and murdered after some criminals gave her alcohol and cocaine. I’m devastated and shocked. It’s been eight years of agony.
‘I am reeling. We will file an appeal in the High Court. But I don’t have the finances to wait another eight years.’ However, Foreign Office officials have advised Miss McKeown that without the testimony of Mr Mannion it is likely to be impossible to revive the case.
Scarlett had been taken out of school for a six-month trip in India with her mother, Miss McKeown’s boyfriend and seven siblings and half siblings.
The teenager was left in Goa while the rest of the family went travelling, leading to accusations of neglect against her mother.
Scarlett was in the care of tour guide Julio Lobo, 25, in Anjuna beach, a magnet for drugs tourists. Her body was found hours after she was seen stumbling into a beach bar at 3am, clearly intoxicated.
Mr Mannion was staying in Goa with D’Souza and was drinking with him that night.
The holidaymaker had said that he saw Scarlett leaving the bar at 5am with local man Murli Sagar. Minutes later the Briton left, he said, after seeing 6ft tall D’Souza ‘lying on top’ of the teenager in the car park. Sagar went on to claim D’Souza had grabbed the teenager and told him to leave.
Local police, widely accused of corruption, initially claimed Scarlett had drowned in an accident.
But her mother found her daughter’s discarded bikini and shorts, and demanded a second autopsy.
This showed Scarlett had suffered 50 injuries, had too little water in her lungs to have drowned and had been sexually assaulted.
Now the crime remains officially unsolved after a judge took only seconds to formally clear the two men of all charges.
A packed court in Panjim, the capital of Goa, was told it was due to a ‘lack of evidence’.
The defendants, who had denied culpable homicide and grievous sexual assault, stayed silent in court. But their lawyer claimed Scarlett had drowned while high on drugs.
The trial had begun in 2010 after D’Souza and alleged drug dealer Carvalho were charged. Indian detectives had eventually acted but delays in their investigation led to claims of a high-level cover-up.
Mr Mannion eventually refused to give evidence, reportedly after suffering a nervous breakdown.
Last month, when approached outside his home about his failure to testify, he said only: ‘Eight years I’ve been involved in this. Who was there for me when I needed help?’ The trial dragged on as proceedings were only held for one afternoon in a month.
The public prosecutor withdrew at one stage and there were 70 witnesses. Charges of murder were downgraded to culpable homicide.
During the long-running case, D’Souza and Carvalho were said to have taken cocaine with Scarlett in the bar kitchen.
There were also allegations that the teenager was having sex with her guardian Lobo.
Last night, her mother added: ‘Right from the beginning I knew local police didn’t want to prosecute the killers and it took a huge effort even to register a complaint.
‘If any international tourists come to Goa and get murdered they have no hope for justice. The justice system protects the criminals and not the tourists.’
‘He’s let her down badly’