BillyMalc Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 I'm sure you all have picked up something about Scarlett Keeling, the teenager who was found dead on a beach in Goa She was left in Goa "with friends", while mum, per partner and siblings were travelling in another state. Apparently the police tried to dissmiss it at first as a case of drowning, but now it's appeared that the girl was drugged and sexually assaulted before she was dumped on the beach. Mum is making a big song and dance about the incompetence of the Indian police, who have now arrested 2 men, appealing to the Indian PM. What really gripes me about this, is the mum going on and on and on about how badly the police are doing their job. I think it's pretty much a known thing that the Indian police aren't the finest in the world, but there is a lot in India that works well below our standards. I've been to the same place and believe you me, it was party heaven then already, with all nighters and drugs all over the place. By the sounds of it the place hasn't changed at all in that respect. This poor girl was 15, an age at which most of us will think that we're 'proper grown-up' (or at least want to play along with the grown-ups), that we can handle alcohol and drugs and party with the best of them. I've not exactly been an angel myself, but if I had met a 15 year old on that beach, with her family not just not nearby but travelling in a different state, I would of thought it madness. Mum is saying that, because of police incompetence, this has happened before and it will happen again. Am I alone in thinking that if she hadn't left her daughter with these "friends" in India's party state, there would have been a good chance that it wouldn't have been her daughter who it had happened to? RIP Scarlett. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 I don't know too much about it but if I'd left my daughter in the care of somebody else, not only would I blame myself but I'd also question why they were allowing her to be out all night drinking anyway. Somebody should've been making sure she was safe, and they failed to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoe Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 I heard on the news that she was staying with her boyfriend (who is age 28) and his parents. Personally I would not allow my 15 year old daughter to have a boyfriend of that age, let alone stay with him while I went off somewhere else. I know when I was 15 I thought I knew everything and that I was completely grown up. Obviously I wasn't but that's how you think at that age. I would not leave a child of that age in a foreign country while I went to another part of the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooandboo Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 I heard on the news that she was left in the care of a tour guide so who knows what the real story is So very, very sad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cycas Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 Although I am sure the mother regrets her decision, I also think it's reasonable for her to want the crime fully investigated. I don't think she should be expected to just accept it, and I also think it is reasonable to say that if the murder of a 15 year old is fully investigated this time, that might just make the place safer for the 19 year old that may otherwise go missing there next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprogsbloke Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 In a word yes the mother is at fault. She left her daughter with a Tour Guide who she knew the child was having sexual relations with and disappeared off for a trip of a couple of weeks the the rest of her family. In my opinion she should be charged with neglect as should anyone who abandons a child to go off and do their own thing. It is bad that the police tried to cover it up and obviously a bad thing that happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudi Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 Although I am sure the mother regrets her decision, I also think it's reasonable for her to want the crime fully investigated. I don't think she should be expected to just accept it, and I also think it is reasonable to say that if the murder of a 15 year old is fully investigated this time, that might just make the place safer for the 19 year old that may otherwise go missing there next year. I agree. We probably will never know the truth because newspapers wouldn't know how to print it. I expect the mother does blame herself and will have to live with it, but the fault lies with the person who killed the girl. The cover up which seems to be an attempt to protect the tourist industry is pretty poor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyMalc Posted March 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 I hope that my post didn't come across as implying that there should not be a thorough investigation and that that any kind of cover-up would be acceptable, because I certainly didn't mean it that way. What I mean is that I would expect that at least the mum is aware of the way of life and party scene in Goa, and that it could be a potentially risky place to leave a teenager. Not for a day whilst out shopping, but for an unspecified time while travelling in another state, in foreign country. She contests that she has been negligent and I really disagree; in my view she has been. Of course I hope that there will be a full investigation and that those responsible will be brought to justice - any kind of assault that can be prevented can only be a good thing. Some risks can be prevented though through the use of common sense. I wouldn't leave a toddler unsupervised with any dog, and neither would I leave a teenager with a local, grown up man in a foreign country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laura g Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 I've missed all reporting on this. I just knew a girl had died and there was confusion over how / why. She left her daughter with a Tour Guide who she knew the child was having sexual relations with and disappeared off for a trip of a couple of weeks the the rest of her family. Blummin hell fire, if those are the facts then yes I agree those in charge of the child's welfare have a lot to answer for. Because a child she is. Or rather, was. And she has been failed on many counts with tragic, tragic consequences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingrid Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 If what I have read is true then it's totally appalling, this is a mother who has 9 children by different fathers, lives on state benefits yet can afford to take her entire family to Goa for 2 months, funded by the sale of PUPPIES !!!!! I fgeel sorry for the girls whose life was so tragically cut short but I have abslutely no sympathy for a mother who leaves her child in this situation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyMalc Posted March 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 If what I have read is true then it's totally appalling, this is a mother who has 9 children by different fathers, lives on state benefits yet can afford to take her entire family to Goa for 2 months, funded by the sale of PUPPIES !!!!! I fgeel sorry for the girls whose life was so tragically cut short but I have abslutely no sympathy for a mother who leaves her child in this situation Jeez Louise! :ohmy: Have you got any links to any of the above? Although I tend to be highly suspicious of any "Mail", "Express" or "Sun" type publications. If the above is true though, DWP as well as HMRC might well want a word with her upon her return. Hasten to add that it does not make me feel less sorry for this girl, and that if there is anything to be gained from this it's that the perpetrators who did this will get their just desserts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprogsbloke Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 Well on the BBC News website it states the she was on holiday with her boyfriend and seven children in total for 6 months to the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kats inc Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 I believe the mother is to be questioned by Police here on her return to England about neglect issues and such. Again there will be an inquiry in this country too even though Scarlett died abroad.Questions like why was she allowed out of school at that age for 6 months,why the lack of supervision,why the older boyfriend etc will no doubt be a feature. My befuddlement is why is she being questioned when the McCanns have never been questioned for leaving a much younger child unsupervised. Hey ho.I will no doubt remain befuddled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruby1Nic Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 I struggle with this one if I'm honest I am so very sorry for poor Scarlett and my sympathies extend to her Mum, siblings and the rest of her family. I had this conversation with the OH the other night. I`m 36 and I made mention of the fact that when I was about 15/16, myself and a friend (same age as me) went to stay in a seaside flat of a family friend of my parents. Now this was in the UK and was 'only' about 100 miles away from home. Dad took us and dropped us off, saw us settled inside etc and then we weren't picked up until the end of the week. In those days we didn't have a mobile and so we used the p/phones to call home and say we were ok. Now, I`ve never ever touched any type of illegal drug, but we did have a drop (or two or three or for or five.......... ) of the 'hard stuff'. We came to no harm - but I suppose that could have been a different story couldn't it ? From some reports I`ve read, the Mum knew that her daughter was sexually active with the tour guide - yet refers to him as being an `uncle figure`. I'm not sure I'd want to describe a relationship with an uncle as sexually active Initially I was also wondering how she could afford the holiday, I was critical of their lifestyle, wondering where the father(s) are of the children etc. However, now, I feel that all the critisism, blame - whatever you want to call it - really should be secondary at this moment in time, until the killer(s) are brought to justice. There will be time to reflect on the rights and wrongs of what the Mum did afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 Jeez Louise! Have you got any links to any of the above? Although I tend to be highly suspicious of any "Mail", "Express" or "Sun" type publications. If the above is true though, DWP as well as HMRC might well want a word with her upon her return. Link to story in the Mail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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