Fiona MacKeown fought a long battle for 11 years before the verdict in the sexual assault and murder case of her then 15-year-old daughter Scarlett Keeling was pronounced on Wednesday.
The bruised and semi naked body of Scarlett was found in the early hours of February 18, 2008 on Anjuna beach, while MacKeown and the rest of the family were in Karnataka.
Police had initially concluded that it was an accidental death, but a sustained campaign from MacKeown and wellwishers forced a second post-mortem examination in March 2008. This one revealed that Scarlett had been drugged and raped before drowning and had suffered some 50 separate injuries before she died.
This led the government to take the matter seriously and handed over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Two men, Samson D’Souza and Placido Carvalho were charged with murder.
After several delays, the trial began in March 2010. With 72 witnesses yet to be called for examination, public prosecutor SR Rivonkar resigned from the case in February 2011 and by December 2013 only 30 witnesses had given evidence.
D’Souza and Carvalho denied all charges against them and in September 2016, Goa Children’s Court Judge Vandana Tendulkar acquitted the two of all the charges on grounds of lack of evidence. The acquittal prompted angry statements from Fiona and also drew widespread criticism in Goa, leading to the CBI filing a petition for a retrial.
Meanwhile, Michael Mannion, a UK national who had claimed to be a witness and seen Scarlett on the fateful evening, disappeared from scene. He failed to depose during the trial when the Indian authorities arranged for him to give evidence by video link from the High Commission in London.
After several delays in May this year the High Court of Bombay at Goa bench of Justices RD Dhanuka and Prithviraj Chavan heard the case for 10 days in continuation before the bench went on vacation. The judgment was pronounced on Wednesday.
On the personal side, questions were raised about Fiona’s lifestyle and why did she, as a mother, let Scarlett stay in Goa alone.
While, the case progressed, Fiona had to wait four and a half years to bury Scarlett. She was laid to rest in June 2012, in a garden at the family’s home in Devon.
