Two accused in killing of British teen walk free

Mother of Scarlett, whose body was found on a Goa beach 8 years ago, is devastated, says she will challenge the verdict |

Acourt in India cleared two men yesterday accused of the rape and homicide of 15-yearold British schoolgirl Scarlett Keeling whose bruised and seminude body was found on a Goa beach eight years ago.

Friends and relatives of the two accused, Samson D’Souza and Placido Carvalho, cheered as the verdict was read out in the state capital Panaji.

But Scarlett’s mother, Fiona MacKeown, said she was devastated by the outcome and promised to fight to overturn the verdict.

“I am reeling. It’s been eight years of agony. I feel devastated and will definitely be challenging the verdict,” she told reporters outside the court.

“We had been waiting all this time and it’s just rubbish. India’s whole judicial system has totally let me down,” she added.

“Somebody murdered my daughter in this country and somebody must be held accountable.”

Broke into smiles

D’Souza and Carvalho had been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, using force with intent to outrage a woman’s modesty and of administering drugs with the intent to harm.

But they both broke into smiles as Judge Vandana Tendulkar told the packed courtroom: “I find them not guilty of all charges.”

Scarlett’s body was found on the popular Anjuna beach in the north of the small Indian tourist state, popular with Western hippies.

The teenager’s death in 2008 became international news, shining a spotlight on the seedy side of the resort destination and also drawing attention to India’s sluggish justice system.

Police initially dismissed her death as an accidental drowning but opened a murder investigation after MacKeown pushed for a second autopsy which proved she had been drugged and raped.

It showed that Keeling had suffered more than 50 injuries to her body.