Man is jailed for murder but family of victim fights on
The family of murdered teacher Carl Davies have said they will not rest until more suspects are brought to justice, after a man was jailed for 15 years.
Carl was found dead on the south Indian Ocean island of Reunion almost six years ago.
After a three-day trial in the island’s capital of Saint-Denis last week, Vincent Madouré, 30, was found guilty of the 33-yearold’s murder.
However, Carl’s parents, Andy and Maria, who used to live in Harrietsham before moving to Scotland, say their quest for justice is not yet over.
Carl worked on a cargo ship which had docked in Saint-Denis in November 7, 2011.
According to reports his body was found by a soldier in a crevasse behind some army barracks two days later.
Initially, the death was believed to be an accident, but after a post mortem found he had been beaten and stabbed repeatedly the authorities belatedly launched an investigation.
Since his death Carl’s family have been fighting an uphill battle to get to the bottom of what happened.
His parents, Andy and Maria, sister Kerrie Stewart and her husband, Joe, flew out to Reunion island to see justice served.
Two other men were initially implicated in the case and believed to be members of the same gang as Madouré.
Speaking after the trial, Mrs Stewart said: “We are delighted with the result and do feel justice has been served, but now the fight goes on for us to go after the other two who, we believe, were heavily involved.”
The 36-year-old added: “There is no way one man did this to Carl and disposed of his body.
“His murder was horrific. There were more people involved, 100%.
“Now Carl’s case will be relooked at to try to find the others responsible and we will not rest until we find them.”
On whether she and her family expected the verdict, Mrs Stewart said: “We really thought he was going to get away with it.
“We didn’t think it would go in our favour because it had taken so long to even get to trial, but once we got to the island we realised the amount of work the police had done.
“The evidence against him was overwhelming.”
She added: “This is a small piece of victory in a big puzzle. We’re extremely happy but also so sad at the same time because nothing will bring Carl back.
“We’d like to thank the island of Reunion for the support and compassion shown to us. When they realised who we were, they really were kind.”