Scarlett Keeling: Man who raped and killed British teen in Goa jailed for 10 years
Written by News on 19/07/2019
A man convicted of the rape and killing of British teenager Scarlett Keeling in Goa has been sentenced to “10 years of rigorous imprisonment”.
It means Samson D’Souza, who was convicted earlier this week, will be forced to carry out hard labour behind bars while serving his jail term in India.
He drugged and attacked Ms Keeling during a Valentine’s Day party on the popular Anjuna beach in 2008, and left the 15-year-old to die.
A post-mortem showed there was ecstasy, cocaine and LSD in her system.
Prosecuting lawyer Vikram Varma told the court that the judgment was important to Ms Keeling’s mother Fiona MacKeown, “a British national who ran from pillar to post and suffered severe pain and hardship in a foreign land”.
Prosecutors had wanted D’Souza imprisoned for life.
Police in Goa initially sought to close the case as an accidental drowning, but Scarlett’s mother raised doubts and the case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
A second post-mortem was held which proved the schoolgirl had been drugged and raped.
Scarlett, from Bideford in Devon, suffered 50 injuries in the attack.
Responding to D’Souza’s conviction earlier this week, Ms MacKeown said the ordeal had been “traumatic” and she was “still reeling”.
The 55-year-old added: “It’s taking its time to sink in that this is finally going to be over.”
She previously told Sky News the police case was “dragged out so long” – and claimed officers had lied about the “whole incident to start with”.
D’Souza was found guilty of “culpable homicide not amounting to murder” by Bombay’s High Court on Wednesday.
Co-accused Placido Carvalho, who worked at the Curlies Beach Shack with D’Souza, was acquitted.
Both men were previously cleared of Scarlett’s rape and murder in 2016, but the CBI appealed against the verdict.
(c) Sky News 2019: Scarlett Keeling: Man who raped and killed British teen in Goa jailed for 10 years
