British Mother's Worst Fears Validated

ANJUNA, Goa, India, March 10, 2008 — -- Fiona MacKeown did not believe her daughter's death was accidental, and in pushing for justice she uncovered not just a rape and murder, but also a possible cover-up by police.

On Sunday night, Indian police arrested a man in connection with the death of MacKeown's 15-year-old daughter, Scarlett Keeling. And today, the tourism minister of Goa, India, said Indian police deliberately covered up the murder of the British tourist.

Samson D'Souza, a 25-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of her rape Sunday. Under Indian law he must appear in court within 24 hours.

Keeling's partly naked and badly bruised body was found three weeks ago on Goa's popular Anjuna Beach, and authorities initially listed drowning as the cause of death.

But MacKeown did not believe that her daughter — a strong swimmer and bodyboarder — could have drowned. She made a public push for a second autopsy, including releasing graphic photos of her daughter's battered body from the first autopsy, which were printed in the local press.

Police relented and performed another autopsy. The report, released Saturday night, revealed that little water was found in the girl's lungs and that her mouth was full of sand. It was determined that the death was "homicidal in nature."

"I knew I was right all along, but to have it confirmed is a relief but hard. It's an odd thing, a mix of emotions," said MacKeown. "Just today, we went to the market while we were waiting for the report and it felt so empty. I knew it was coming, but what is it all about? It's the only thing that will make the police investigate, but it's not nice news though."

"This is a clear case of murder and it has gone out of proportion because the police tried to cover it up," Francisco X. Pacheco, Goa's tourism minister, told Reuters.

An Irresponsible Decision?

A mother of nine children ranging in age from 5 to 19, MacKeown, 43, had been vacationing in India from her home in Devon, England, with her boyfriend and six of her children for the last several months.

At the time of Keeling's death, MacKeown and here family were in a neighboring state while the teenager remained in Goa under the care of a guide named Julio Lobo, who a family spokesperson said is 25 years old, and Lobo's aunt.

Local press and bloggers have questioned the decision to leave the 15-year-old behind with a man, and various reports have labeled MacKeown as crazy, irresponsible and naive.

"I know that people are criticizing me for that, but I tried to make Scarlett come with us," she told the Independent newspaper. "We had fights about it."

After her daughter's death, MacKeown read Keeling's diary and discovered that she had been having a sexual relationship with Lobo, the family spokesperson said.

A Hippie Paradise Gone Bad

Until recently, all of her children were home-schooled or in liberal academic programs, which allowed them to travel for an extended period.

The family chose Goa — known as a "hippie paradise" — because MacKeown's boyfriend had been there previously.

The area has a familiar feel to the family's lifestyle in England, where they grow organic fruits and vegetables, live off the electricity grid and get their water from a well. It was the first overseas trip for the children.

But that comfort was shattered Feb. 18, when MacKeown received a text message reportedly from Lobo from Keeling's phone, asking her to call, and she was informed of her daughter's death.

She returned to Goa and said she found it difficult to believe that Keeling could have drowned.

"I convinced myself that she drowned," she said, but added that she believed the only way drowning could have occurred was if her daughter had been drugged.

Witnesses say they saw Keeling leave a bar with a man around 2 a.m. the day she died, and several locals told MacKeown about rumors that Keeling was murdered.

Then MacKeown took a walk along the beach where her daughter was last seen alive, and she found a sandal belonging to the teenager. After searching nearby, she found more of her daughter's clothing and began to suspect that foul play had led to the death.

Her fears were confirmed when MacKeown viewed her daughter's dead body and noted the extreme difference between the coroner's report, which she said only listed five bruises, and the more than 50 bruises she counted on the body.

After losing faith in the authorities' intention to investigate her daughter's death, MacKeown released autopsy photographs to prove that she had been raped and murdered.

MacKeown said she has coped with Keeling's death by forcing police to reopen the case. Now that that's accomplished, she will be left with the devastation of losing a daughter she describes as "loving and affectionate."

Keeling's body will be flown to England later this week to be buried in their hometown.

"I think when I get home it will really hit home," MacKeown said.

Reuters contributed to this report.