Panaji: Two men accused of raping 15-year-old British teenager Scarlett Keeling and causing her death were on Friday acquitted by a children's court in Goa.
Two local men, Samson D'Souza and Placido Carvalho, who were charged with drugging the teenager and leaving her to die on Anjuna Beach, were let off by the court.
However, CNN-News18 learns that even before the verdict was pronounced legal circles were abuzz with speculation that that the failure of British national and eye witness Micheal Mannion to testify during trail would harm the prosecution’s case.
Mannion had earlier told the Goa police that he saw accused Samson Dsouza lying on top of Scarlett Keeling in what appeared to be a sexual assault.
That was the last time Scarlett was seen before her body was discovered on Anjuna Beach.
Speaking to CNN News18 a day before the final verdict, Fiona had said that the trial was a test of the competence of the CBI, which had investigated the matter.
When asked about her life after the unfortunate murder of her daughter, she said, "It's not been brief, it's been a long eight years as I have been unsure of where I stood most of the time."
"Those who killed my daughter perhaps had the confidence that I would not be able to last the slow process of a trial. But my resolve to stand up and fight for my daughter's justice has not diluted," she had said.
"I am still reeling. I don't have any faith in the govt anymore," Fiona MacKeown told CNN-News18 after the court pronounced its verdict.
Hitting out at the only eyewitness in the case, Fiona said, "Micheal Mannion let scarlett down when he left her there to die and then by not turning up to testify. I hold him largely responsible for the not guilty verdict."
After 16-year-old Scarlett's body was found, Fiona had lived in Anjuna for a couple of weeks trying to piece together the evidence in the case.
"After the incident we stayed at Anjuna for couple of weeks but we were advised to move out from there considering the safety of our lives. The local goons were very active," she alleged.
The case was initially investigated by Goa Police and later handed over to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Vikram Varma, the advocate appointed by Fiona, had also said the verdict will be a test for Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as they took over the case after the state police tried to cover up by terming it as a case of accidental death
Comments
0 comment