Scarlett Keeling

Fiona MacKeown

Irish national Danielle McLaughlin

Devabagh

Goa

Anjuna Beach

CBI

Bombay High Court

Bombay

CCTV

Fiona MacKeown, mother of 16-year-old, who was raped and murdered in 2008, draws striking parallels with the recent murder of Irish-British national Danielle McLaughlin., the mother of Scarlett Keeling, has said that there are striking parallels between the gruesome tragedy that befell her daughter and the murder of. McLaughlin was found brutally murdered in, in Cancona, Southon Tuesday morning. Keeling’s battered body was found on, in Goa, on February 18, 2008.Samson D’Souza and Placido Carvalho, who were charged with drugging and raping her, and eventually leaving her to drown, were acquitted by a Goa children’s court last year. However, the, which took over the case, recently filed a petition in thechallenging the acquittal.MacKeown said that she had been following the news about McLaughlin’s murder. “I was talking to her mother yesterday. It’s always shocking to learn that there has been yet another murder. They (Keeling and McLaughlin) were both beautiful young women with their whole lives ahead of them. Some monster thought he could rape and murder them without getting caught, as the police and ministers have proven time and time again that criminals can get away with murder.”MacKeown said that she had spent a fortune trying to get justice for her daughter, and was getting tired after nine years of relentless struggle.“I don’t think anything has changed in Goa except the government, but they don’t seem to care. If they did, the CBI would be made to probe the police, ministers, Julio (Lobo, a local tour guide) and all the drug dealers that were there the night Scarlett died. All broke the law.”MacKeown said that the police were instructed to treat Keeling’s murder as a drowning accident right from the beginning, and that powerful people were being protected.“Why is a blind eye being turned? Who are they protecting? The Goa police can tackle any crime if they aren’t prevented from doing so by higher powers. The police were never incompetent; they were instructed to treat Scarlett’s murder as a drowning accident. It says so in one of the police statements from Scarlett’s case.”MacKeown said that she tells friends and acquaintances to avoid visiting Goa. “If anything goes wrong, you will be treated appallingly by the authorities. You will never get justice if a loved one is murdered, and if a girl is raped, she will be blamed because she was on her own, or wearing the wrong clothing.’’She also is not enthused by the CBI’s recent petition in the Goa Bench of theHC. “I don’t have much faith in them,” she said. “They only did half an investigation in the first place.”According to MacKeown, the CBI conducted in a lackadaisical manner. “Their energy about the whole case was lacking. They did not even present a synopsis of the arguments before the judge. I initially gave all the information to the CBI about the Indian witness I wanted to talk to. When I asked them, they simply said they couldn’t find him. They are the leading investigating team in India. They surely can find anyone.”MacKeown told Mirror that she had started a crowd funding project to raise money that would be given to people who could give me new leads into the case. “I have no credit left on my credit cards. I will come back to India when I need to.”Several tourists organised a memorial service for McLaughlin on Friday. The Goa police have arrested Vikas Bhagat, 23, who was seen onwith the Irish-British national.