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| Two Indian men cleared of raping and killing British schoolgirl Scarlett Keeling on Goa beach | Two Indian men cleared of raping and killing British schoolgirl Scarlett Keeling on Goa beach |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Two men have been cleared of raping a British schoolgirl and leaving her to die on a beach in Goa. | Two men have been cleared of raping a British schoolgirl and leaving her to die on a beach in Goa. |
| Scarlett Keeling, 15, had been on holiday with her family in the popular Indian resort of Anjuna when she attended a Valentine’s Day party in 2008. | |
| Her partially undressed body was found on the beach the following day, showing bruises and signs of an attack. | Her partially undressed body was found on the beach the following day, showing bruises and signs of an attack. |
| Two local men, Samson D'Souza and Placido Carvalho, were accused of raping and assaulting Scarlett before leaving her unconscious to drown. | Two local men, Samson D'Souza and Placido Carvalho, were accused of raping and assaulting Scarlett before leaving her unconscious to drown. |
| On Friday, a judge in Goa cleared them of charges of rape and culpable homicide after years of delays in the case, which saw a change in prosecutor. | |
| Fiona MacKeown, Scarlett’s mother, is planning to launch an appeal following the acquittal. | |
| “I am disappointed with the verdict and I will definitely move to the higher court,” she said. | |
| Speaking to Sky News before the ruling, she described her daughter’s death as every “parent’s worst nightmare”. | |
| "It's bad enough to lose a child to murder without it being dragged out so long,” she added. | |
| "They hoped I'd get tired and get fed up of waiting or wouldn't come back. They were wrong." | |
| Prosecutors alleged Carvalho and D'Souza had plied Scarlett with drugs, raped her and left her unconscious on the beach where she subsequently drowned. | |
| A post-mortem examination showed there was ecstasy, cocaine and LSD in the teenager's body. | |
| After being acquitted, D'Souza told reporters he was happy with the verdict, adding: “Justice has prevailed.” | |
| His defence lawyer, Marvin D'Souza, said the investigation had been influenced by diplomatic pressure and trial by media. | |
| An initial police investigation found Scarlett had died accidentally but a second post mortem sparked a new probe. | |
| Scarlett, from Bideford in north Devon, suffered 50 separate injuries in the attack. |