A court in Goa has sentenced a 31-year-old local resident to rigorous life imprisonment for the rape and murder of Irish-British national Danielle McLaughin in 2017. The accused, Vikat Bhagat, was found guilty of raping and murdering the 28-year-old tourist, whose body was found in a forested area in Canacona village of South Goa on March 14, 2017. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 for the rape and murder and Rs 10,000 for the destruction of evidence.
Scarlett, 15, who was holidaying in Goa with her mother and siblings, was found dead on the popular beach on February 18, 2008. The cause of death, according to the autopsy report, was drowning.
British national Fiona Mackeown, who was summoned by Goa's Women and Child Welfare Department, failed to appear before the authorities on Friday, citing that the notice issued was inadequate to make alternative arrangements for the safety and care of her children."My client is a single mother of seven minor children and her presence in England with her children is essential for their care and safety," Fiona's legal counsel Vikram Varma said.
The vital organs from the body of Scarlett Eden Keeling, whose body was flown to the United Kingdom, were found missing during the third autopsy, the lawyer representing Fiona Mackeown has confirmed.The Coroner court in Devonshire, UK during the second level post-mortem had found that vital body parts like stomach, kidneys and uterus are missing.Scarlett's bruised corpse was found at Anjuna beach on February 18.
Fiona Mackeown, mother of slain British teenager Scarlett Eden Keeling, has decided to take her daughter's body back to her hometown for the final rites next week.Scarlett was allegedly drugged, raped and murdered on Goa's popular Anjuna beach on February 18. Two locals - barman Samson D'souza and an alleged drug dealer Placido Carvalho - have been arrested on the charge of drugging, raping and murdering Scarlett.
The Goa police have summoned Fiona Mackeown, mother of slain British teenager Scarlett Eden Keeling, for questioning on Saturday at Panaji's juvenile police station. Mackeown's advocate Vikram Varma said two policemen who appeared at Fiona's residence on Friday night served the summons under the Goa Children's Act.
Fiona McKeown, mother of British teenager Scarlett Keeling, who was found dead on Goa's Anjuna beach, is expected to depose before the Central Bureau of Investigation next week, her counsel said.
Scarlett Keeling's mother Fiona Mackeown demanded that the people responsible for the 'murder' of her daughter be identified and prosecuted.
The tourist season for Russians in Goa, who lead the pack of foreign tourists flocking India's beach capital every year, has opened on an unpleasant note this year following a spate of upsetting incidents prompting the Russian authorities to issue an advisory for their nationals.
Goa Children's Court Judge Vandana Tendulkar acquitted Samson D'Souza and Placido Carvalho of all the charges in the eight-year-long high profile death case.
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