Team Herald
PANJIM: The Goa Children’s Court on Friday acquitted Samson D’Souza and Placido Carvalho from the charges of drugging, sexually abusing and leaving British teenage girl Scarlett Eden Keeling to die on Anjuna beach eight years back. Fiona Mackeown, Scarlett’s mother, who was present when the order was pronounced, expressed shock at the verdict as she exited the court at Patto Panjim.
The court hall was packed with national and international media persons awaiting the judgment in the sensational case that attracted international attention and was probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The 15-year-old Scarlett’s bruised and semi-nude body was found on Anjuna beach on February 18, 2008.
After the acquittal pronounced by President of Goa Children’s Court Vandana Tendulkar, the two accused who were also present left the court. Both were accompanied by family members. “Justice has finally prevailed,” D’Souza told the media before leaving court.
“It was quick and I am shocked. I was not expecting an acquittal. I was expecting a conviction. I will challenge the order,” MacKeown told reporters outside the court hall.
Medical evidence confirmed that Scarlett was grievously assaulted, raped and murdered after some persons gave her alcohol and cocaine, the mother said. “Right from the beginning I knew that the local police didn’t want to prosecute the killers and it took a huge effort for me to even get the police to register a complaint,” MacKeown said.
She said that she had hope after the federal investigating agency took over the case but it was now clear that they are either incompetent or corrupt. “I don’t believe that they are incompetent, all I can say is that if any international tourist come to Goa and get murdered they have no hope of justice in this system. The criminal justice system protects the criminals and not the tourists,” MacKeown said.
The mother and family lawyer Vikram Verma said they are contemplating challenging the verdict. “I don’t have the financial resources or the strength to wait for another eight years in appeal,” she said.
CBI had filed charges in the case in 2010 after completing the investigation which was handed over to them by Goa Police. The State police were accused of trying to hush up the case.
D’Souza was charged of sexually abusing the girl and leaving her to die on the shore, while Carvalho was accused of providing narcotics to her on the fateful night.
On March 31, 2008 Scarlett’s body was flown to UK and was kept at a morgue till June 16, 2012 and was finally buried at her home in Devon.
After constant pressure from the international media, as well as from MacKeown, the State had agreed to hand over the investigation to CBI, and the case transferred to the federal agency (CBI) on May 7, 2008.
CBI filed chargesheet on October 21, 2009 before Goa Children’s Court but the trial saw a change of five judges and three public prosecutors.
Ejaz Khan CBI counsel said that the Director of CBI will take a decision on challenging the case after referring it for the opinion to Director of Prosecution. Refraining from commenting further, Khan said that once they get the order copy CBI will determine the grounds to challenge it.
Advocate Marvin D’Souza represented Samson whereas as Advocate Pravin Naik represented Carvalho in the court.
How the story unfolded
SURAJ NANDREKAR
suraj@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Eight years and seven months after the body of Scarlett Eden Keeling was found at Anjuna beach on February 18, 2008, interest in the case hasn’t died down. People talk about the case as if it had occurred just months ago.
Some Anjunkars say the case put the village on the world map. A few claim it has tarnished the name of the village as it is now known as the drug capital.
Herald takes a look at the eight years of the case
The trip of death
In a diary entry, 15 year-old Scarlett had stated that her visit to India will be the “trip of a lifetime”. Call it destiny or coincidence, Keeling was found half-naked and dead on February 18, 2008 on Anjuna beach during the same trip.
Keeling had come to India for a six-month holiday with her mother, Fiona MacKeown, her mother’s boyfriend and seven siblings and half-siblings.
Scarlett wanted to stay back in Anjuna when the rest of her family made a plan to visit Karnataka. She would stay back with Julio Lobo, a 25-year-old local tour guide. In February, the 15-year-old joined her family in Gokarna, but sought to return to Goa for a Valentine’s Day party. Despite apprehensions, MacKeown agreed.
According to witnesses, on the night of February 17, Scarlett was spotted at a shack on the beach, in an inebriated condition. According to Murli Sagar, a witness, Scarlett was then found with the two accused, Samson D’Souza and Placido Carvalho.
Michael Mannion, a British witness, reported that he watched Scarlett leave with Sagar around 5 am. A few minutes later, Mannion said he saw D’Souza “lying on top” of her.
An 8-year-long trial
What followed was an investigation by the Goa Police, one that Scarlett’s mother still claims was “botched-up”. MacKeown says she still feels “angry” that the police did not do a proper first autopsy. “I’m not going to go away, I’m going to keep going until I get an answer for Scarlett,” she had told The Independent in 2013.
A second autopsy was done, which confirmed that there were at least 50 bruises on Scarlett’s body. It also found injuries near her pelvic area, confirming rape. The autopsy also revealed that the water in the lungs was too little to cause drowning.
Within 24 hours, D’Souza was arrested, after which, Carvalho was also taken under arrest. Sagar and Mannion both agreed to testify as witnesses.
On June 5, the case was taken over by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI booked the two accused for culpable homicide, not murder. The two went to trial on March 3, 2010. However, the case has witnessed all kinds of hiccups, including a backlog of previous cases and frequent change in judges.
Mannion, one of the key witnesses also refused to testify, saying he “suffered a nervous breakdown” after Scarlett’s body was found. While 33 witnesses gave evidence, both accused pleaded not guilty to culpable homicide and sexual assault.
Hope for closure
The past eight years saw a slew of discussions around Scarlett’s death – from claims of corrupt police, to questions getting raised on MacKeown’s “negligent parenting”.
While the case has remained controversial over the years, a diary discovered from Scarlett’s belongings gave an insight into her state of mind only hours before her death. The entries exposed her underage experiments with drugs and sex, ending with the words “I’m stuk [sic]” and “I want to go home”, alongside an anonymous doodle of a hangman.
The final verdict
Despite MacKeown’s pleas, the Goa Children’s Court acquitted the accused from the charges of drugging, sexually abusing and leaving British teenage girl Scarlett Eden Keeling to die on Anjuna beach eight years ago.
Mackeown, expressed displeasure against the verdict while moving out of the court.
