Here’s the back story for those who aren’t yet aware of the “facts” as we know them at this point:
Pretty, blonde, 15 year old Scarlett Keeling, a Britisher from Bideford, Devon was with her mother, her mother’s boyfriend and six other siblings on a six month vacation in India. At some point the mother & rest of the brood moved onto a neighboring state, leaving Scarlett in Goa - the mother insists she was in “safe hands” of a “very responsible” 25 yr old tour guide they had met. Some reports label the guide, Julio Lobo, as her boyfriend since she was staying with him.
Scarlett was then found dead on a beach in Anjuna, Goa, last month. Initially police said that she had drowned - but the victims mother Fiona MacKeown (who has nine children) pushed the police to a second investigation, where they then proved she had been drugged, raped and then killed.
Placido Carvalho and Samson D’Souza have just been arrested for raping and killing her and police today formally declared the case “closed”, saying that Scarlett had consumed high doses of cocaine and alcohol (some reports add LSD to this list) when she entered the beach shack during wee hours on the fateful day and was then given ecstasy tablets by Carvalho. After this Carvalho and D’Souza raped and murdered her.
Meanwhil Congress MP Shantaram Laxman Naik caused quite a stir at the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday when he blamed the ghastly crime on the victim’s folks. And the tourism minister Ambika Soni agreed saying: “”Naik certainly has a point”.
While many people have been quick to condemn Naik for his “shocking” statement, lots of people, many of British origin are themselves reacting in a similar fashion:
Why on earth did the mother go off and leave a fifteen year old girl, in a place like that, with a 25 year old man?
I’ll never understand these parents who seem to have such a casual attitude to looking after their kids and then wonder why something bad happens to them. - Rosy Knight, Sheffield UKA very bad case BUT Scarlett should have been in school and taking her GCSEs - what was her mother doing taking her and her siblings out of school? Was this the action of a responsible mother? A lot of questions need to be asked. Her mother needs to be applauded by trying to discover the truth BUT she should not have been there in the first place or left while her mother went off elsewhere - she was only 15 and would imagine sexually active - responsible parenting? - Valerie, Colchester
So who’s to blame here?
Carvalho and D’Souza?: Both have confessed, so yes - Definitely and without a doubt - and I really think people like these should received maximum punishment possible. Also, a third and as yet unidentified person was also reportedly arrested a few hours ago.
The Police?: While one cannot blame them for Scarlett’s death, they are definetely 100% guilty of trying to cover it up.
The “responsible” Tour Guide Julio Lobo?: No news from his end yet. According to the mother, he was supposed to be “looking after” Scarlett. So where was he when she was getting high, being gang raped and then murdered?
The criminalization of drugs / cartels / the Russian mafia?: Lots of debate on this point. I’ve debated this before with a friend (after watching ‘We own the night‘) and I truly believe that it is more dangerous, especially for innocent children, if drugs were legalized.
The Mother / Family?: Allison Pearson of the UK Daily Mail certainly thinks so. Imo, leaving a minor alone in Goa is not the act of a responsible parent. Leave aside the fact that she was “on vacation” with other siblings for six months. However I think that before any “case of negligence” is filled against, the actual perpetrators of the crime and the corrupt police should be severely dealt with.
And how about Scarlett herself? : Should she at 15 years be drinking and taking drugs? Was she not old enough to know better? Britain is another place, perhaps it’s safe for a 15 year old to be out drinking and taking drugs on her own there (though I would imagine not). Shouldn’t she have known better?
Better to have been “safe than sorry?” Or are we completely missing the point here and blaming the victim and her family, when we should be sympathizing with them during this terrible ordeal, made worse by corrupt police?
Tags: Ambika Soni, Anjuna Beach, Britain, Fiona MacKeown, Goa, India, Julio Lobo, Placido Carvalho, Samson D'Souza, Scarlett Keeling, Shantaram Laxman Naik, UK
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March 14th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
If the mother were in the UK, while the 15 year old were in a bar and then found dead, not only would she have faced charges of negligence, she might have had her many children taken from her into state custody. So it does not surprise me that many here are appalled at the mother’s behaviour.
British people do not go “on vacation”
The mother has told media here she wanted peace and quiet and of course, Goa with its free-wheeling culture is where nearly 0.5M find it every year, no?
If one were to look at contributory factors there are many; but if one is looking for causal, perhaps the mother’s negligent and casual attitude, and apparent naivete (I say because it is cloaked as naivete but frankly it is a bit hard to believe such “innocence” about a mother of over half a dozen children) is the main culprit.
March 14th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
And I say “the mother’s” because in all this while, no father has come forward to talk to the media. In Britain, there are several red-top tabloids who fall all over themselves to dig out relatives from nowhere to make allegations and near-libellous claims about people caught in such a situation. But so far - no father!
March 14th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
I was enlightened at a lunch meeting by a friend that the many children have been fathered by 5 different fathers. Hence no ‘father’.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:35 am
India is not safe for women.
March 16th, 2008 at 7:38 am
In some ways this incident reminds me of the Natalee Holloway case.
March 16th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Definitely the police has to be blamed for trying to cover up this story.Maybe for Fiona MacKeown this is something new but havent we here in India seen this happen so many times before.But yes Ms MacKeown was also careless enough to leave her teenage daughter alone in an unknown country
March 16th, 2008 at 9:04 am
it is the mother’s fault. that girl is a minor. her decision to leave the girl with someone she does not know was a massive lapse in judgement and led directly to the girl’s death.
I do not know why people have children when they do not want to parent. what parent lets a 15 year old have a 25 year old boyfriend anyway???
March 16th, 2008 at 9:34 am
This seems pretty cut-n-dry here: mum’s an old hag.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Oh My God Shefaly, really? I mean, I’m like, this is a scandal, like. She’s a total slut. I mean like, she opened her crotch for FIVE DIFFERENT men!!! Hello!! Slut alert people!!! It’s so cool that well meaning people like you and your friend are informing everyone about the true colors of this cow. What a slut! Anyways, I’m off to sip on my latte. See you laters…
March 16th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Dee..
During spring break, teens let it rip. That is precisely why teens go there. Its party time, and having plenty of contagious peers and no parents around helps big time. I used to own a motel in such a hot destination and I have seen it all firsthand how wild teens really get there. Most parents have no clue what so ever, what debauchery their innocent looking kids are capable of. But its an American tradition and most parents oblige their kids because all his or her friends are going. That is what Natalie case was all about - teens trying to have a blast and local teens taking advantage that blew up in their face.
Scarlett case is very different. Here parents are vacationing for wild times and their kids are tagging along. Having 9 kids, vacationing for 6 months with kids that should be in school, leaving teens without parental supervision, teens experimenting with drugs and sex while vacationing with parents - it says a lot about this parents.
It was accident waiting to happen and parents are as much responsible for their daughter’s death. These parents are not going to earn anybody’s sympathy, while whole world sympathized with Natalie’s parents and stood with her in search for the body and culprits.
Culprits in both instances look familiar - the local boys who saw an opportunity to score, took advantage of a girl on high, disposed of her body without seeking medical help and then tried to get away with murder - they deserve to be put away for good. For this point of view, both cases do look similar.
March 16th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
you left out one option: “it was her karma or destiny that led to this”. does the omission of this factor in your article suggest that you are not a believer in what almost everybody in India believes in - fatalism?
maybe we should hold God responsible for such a deterministic structure?
and nah mate, the sexually starved, emotionally constipated indian youth (chokras) are not to be blamed here..they of course follow the standard bollywood routines like making cheesy statements while raising their eyebrows and creasing their foreheads and breaking into lewd songs/dance when they try to patao their muse..and do we ever see any pretty girl in Indian movies killed by her romantic pursuer?
and yeah, unaccompanied girls on a high are regularly killed in the west as well by sex starved men..yeah right!!! go have a wank India…and take a dump as well while you are at it…it may reduce some of the baggage that the Indian romeos carry..
March 16th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Deep breaths perihelionflux.
What would happen if a young woman is left to her own devices in the Bronx area at night?
An Indian actress recently was mistaken to be a prostitute and picked up by the cops when she was found to be walking down the Amsterdam highway in the middle of night with a gang of men following her and making lewd racial and sexual remarks. After verification she was let go.
Things happen all over the world.
India is a very unsafe area, even Indians are careful when they visit tourist spots where drugs, sex and all kinds of underground activities thrive and are indulged in by those visiting the country.
The mother had no business leaving one of her kids to run around in a place like Goa. Who leaves a 15 year old to their own devices in a strange country?
For Christ sakes the only place a 15 year old is safe is in Disney Land.
KArma has nothing to do with what happened to that child but gross negligence on the part of the mother who unloaded her child on a young 25 year old man.
Rest was all recipe for disaster waiting to happen. Even in America kids continue to be chaperoned by their parents back and forth when they go on dates at this age and this mother just handed her kid over to the wolves.
March 17th, 2008 at 2:27 am
Very balanced and sensible writing, Melody. Congratulations.
March 17th, 2008 at 8:37 am
India is definitely not safe for women. Makes me wonder how many rape cases go unreported and how many of them are covered up.
March 17th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
@Mario :If you say that “India is not safe for women’, please let me know which place in the world is safe for women. We have rapes/ assaults on women (and even men) al over the world. In some places it is notreported.
All parties concerned have to take the blame :
Scarlett : for the drugs
Fiona : for being a negligent mother
The police : for the cover-up
The muderers : they should be punished.
March 17th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
@ Rupa Lee:
I have posted several comments which need to be seen in totality. I have not implied anything about the mother’s character; I simply highlighted the fact that if a child is staying with the mother, and the father is not present, then the mother bears the child’s responsibility.
Normally I would have said the parents are to blame but there is no mention of the father. In the last comment, I merely added the information as it surfacing slowly in the UK.
Your assessment of my comment is entirely your own, I am afraid. I have not implied anything about the mother’s character. My comments are about parental responsibility but of course, you are free to read exactly what you wish to see, not what is clearly stated therein.
March 18th, 2008 at 1:01 am
@Lancy: Ask women taking bus rides any where in the indian subcontinent and then ask other women who have taken bus rides in other parts of the world. The difference in their response should answer your question.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Good point Shefaly. I wonder whether the UK will take any action against her now, considering she still has other children - and considering she’s been living off dole!
@ Rahul: Well, imo that is rather a blanket statement. There are parts of India which are safer than others. Also it depends on so many other factors like the company one keeps, whether one is in a state of inebriation etc.
Though Mumbai has also had disturbing incidents in the past, I still consider Mumbai a safe place by & large - again a relative statement though. It would definitely not be safe for me if I was alone and drinking myself silly in a shady bar somewhere.
@ Deepti - In some respects yes. It’s strange, I felt so much more sympathy for Natalee’s parents though. Perhaps it’s because of all the judgment regarding Scarlett’s mother’s negligence.
@ Kerty - Agree with you.
“its an American tradition and most parents oblige their kids because all his or her friends are going” - so many other girls have been raped but just because they weren’t killed they don’t make the headlines like Natalee & Scarlett. I wish parents choose one of the two unpopular options: (01) deny permission or (02)personally chaperone the kids.
I’d hate to have my parents chaperone me to a party - but hard times call for hard measures.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
I do know many other women who’ve slept with lot more than five men. While I do not share their value system, I definetely do not think it’s right in any way to call them names or make judgments on their value system because it differs from mine.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
“the sexually starved, emotionally constipated indian youth (chokras) are not to be blamed here”
It definetely gives one (disturbing) insight into your thoughts.
@ Anadiya: I completely and 100% agree with you. I’m almost 30, yet I too would never DREAM of going to such places alone, much less if I were the type to drink & do drugs!
@ Deepa: Thanks
I’m usually the type of person to see something and then judge it according to my own value system. I was however trying to be free of such judgments when I wrote this & be balanced. It’s good to see someone got that!
March 20th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
For the record, though I rarely travel by public transport, I’ve always felt safe in Mumbai. And I know tons of women who travel by public transport in Mumbai who feel safe too, praise God.
But yes - I too was talking to a friend about this itself - there must be tons and tons of cases of rape and molestation which go unreported or get covered up. Very very very sad. I sincerely pray that this case brings severe action on the cops & makes things better for the future.
March 26th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
@ Melody:
The possibility of her kids being taken away still exists, although given the prejudices surrounding hippies and gypsies in the UK, I do not know how they will find willing foster parents. But who know they will. The mom has reportedly sent her kids back to the UK citing safety fears.
Here in the UK, many in mainstream media are questioning why it is that a person on dole can go away for an extended exotic holiday while honest tax-paying people cannot even use their regular holiday quota. There may be, as usual, a class element to all this as is the case with everything in the UK.
More complicated than it looks, of course. But this one will run and run. And can get politically very murky except that the UK government has not shown any great urgency or inclination to intervene, considering the mother has been shooting letters off to Manmohan Singh etc.
April 19th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
I’m sorry but I really don’t see what a woman is doing with 4 daughters in Goa, skimpily dressed, hanging out in the touristic areas…?
Did she read about India… about our culture and society? about the booze and drugs on Goa’s beaches? I feel bad for her and her daughter, but I feel even more for India.
May 5th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Is usage of drug is not as big as a crime as rape and murder? Many countries have stringent laws against narcotics. Some countries have provision of life sentence for indulging in narcotics.
Definitely Goa police has to be blamed. But we should be blaming them for the drug abuse prevailing in the state.
If a criminal gets killed in a gang war, police will be blamed for allowing criminal gangs to surface up. Not for the murder of a certain criminal by the other.
May 26th, 2008 at 10:07 am
India’s overall impression is quite degraded overseas. The foreigners are so scared that they think twice before they nod yes to visit India for a official meeting etc.
That’s unfortunate.