‘Our son is dead and no one is going to pay for it’
Family devastated after Indian Ocean murder suspects freed
The family of murdered Carl Davies have been left devastated by a decision not to prosecute two of the three men charged with his killing.
It is almost five years since the 33-year-old’s body was discovered in a ravine on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion.
Initially, it was thought he had fallen to his death, but a week later it was revealed the former Royal Marine was murdered, having been badly beaten during a night out.
His parents, Maria and Andy, moved from Hollingbourne to Fife, Scotland, last year to be near their daughter Kerrie, 35, and two grand-daughters.
They had hoped to make a fresh start away from Kent, but Tuesday’s news came as a hammer blow.
Mrs Davies said: “We’ve had no help at all from the British or French governments.
“We thought the trial was going ahead and now we hear this and we’re just shell-shocked.
“My son’s dead and nobody’s being held to account.”
Their solicitor on the Frenchadministered island sent an email breaking the news that two of the suspects had been freed due to lack of evidence.
Four men were arrested in 2013 but one was later released, leaving three facing trial.
This now leaves one man, but it is felt the chances of a conviction could be limited.
Mrs Davies said: “I was just stunned to hear what had happened. My son’s life’s been taken and it feels like no one’s going to pay the price.”
The 55-year-old said she and her husband could challenge the decision with the French supreme court but it would cost a lot of money.
Already, they have paid out £20,000 for their Reunion lawyer and for another one based in Paris.
These funds were raised through events held in memory of Carl, of Harrier Drive, Sittingbourne, who taught at Sittingbourne Community College and Sheppey Academy.
He was working as security on a cargo ship that had docked at Reunion’s capital Saint-Denis in November 2011. He died after leaving a bar.