Two men have been acquitted of the rape and murder of British schoolgirl Scarlett Keeling in India.

crime reporter(wp/es):

Two men have been acquitted of the rape and murder of British schoolgirl Scarlett Keeling in India.

The 15-year-old’s bruised and half-naked body was found on Anjuna beach in the north of Goa in 2008.

The teenager had been at a Valentine's Day beach party while the rest of her family had gone travelling.

A post-mortem examination showed there was ecstasy, cocaine and LSD in her body when she died.

Following a police investigation two local men, Samson D'Souza and Placido Carvalho, were charged with causing her death. 

It was believed they had plied her with drugs, raped her and left her unconscious on the beach where she subsequently drowned.

Both denied charges of culpable homicide and grievous sexual assault and were today acquitted by a judge in India.

Scarlett, from Bideford in north Devon, suffered 50 separate injuries in the attack, Goa's Children's Court has previously heard.

The teenager's mother, Fiona MacKeown, travelled to India for the verdict.

She said following the verdict: “I've waited 8 years and now this.

"I am disappointed with the verdict and I will definitely move to the higher court."

Samson D'Souza reportedly said: “Justice has prevailed.”

Ms MacKeown described her daughter as "just a normal teenage girl" and said she would always “regret” allowing her to go to the beach party.

She told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme: "She wanted to be more grown up than she was. 

“Mostly people don't know the facts when they say I left her on the beach on her own or with her 29-year-old boyfriend. He wasn't her boyfriend and I didn't leave her on her own. They don't know the facts and I try not to take what they say personally. 

"Obviously I will regret that decision for the rest of my life that I let her go to that party. I wish more than anything that I'd said no and kept her with us but I can't change the past. I just have to accept it and get on."

The bereaved mother described her daughter as “happy and lively”.

She said: "She played saxophone and she was going to join a band. She used to ride the horses a lot - we had horses and she loved that. She used to swim - all of us used to get into the sea in Cornwall and swim. She was active and strong and healthy."

A teenager raped

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An 18-year-old was raped after being held down and robbed by two other women.

Greater Manchester Police said the female victim was thrown to the ground in Manchester city centre on Wednesday by a man who then held her down with a woman while a second woman robbed her.

The man then raped the woman before the trio fled from the scene in Major Street towards the city’s Gay Village shortly before 3am.

Detective Inspector Dave Moores of GMP’s Serious Sexual Offences Unit said: “This was a horrendous attack on a young woman which has, understandably, left her extremely distressed.

“We are providing her with support from specially trained officers and have launched a full investigation.”

The man is described as white, in his early 20s, of slim build and with a clean-shaven face. He was wearing sports clothing.

The first woman, who helped restrain the victim during the robbery, is described as 18, of mixed race with a scrawny build and had her hair tied up in a ponytail. She spoke with a local accent.

The second woman, who carried out the robbery, is described as mixed race, in her early 20s and had a messy ponytail. She also spoke with a local accent.

Detectives leading the investigation are asking anyone who may have seen people matching the description of the group between 2am and 3pm to come forward.

City businessman beaten

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A City businessman was battered to death by a gang of teenagers on BMXs after a “trivial” row in a takeaway as he walked home from a drinks party, witnesses said today.

Detectives were today hunting the group of at least four youths who followed the 31-year-old victim for around 100 yards after he left the fast-food outlet before assaulting him, reportedly with a heavy metal chain.

He was found lying in a pool of blood on a footbridge over a railway line opposite All Saints DLR station in Poplar, east London, by a passing cyclist who performed CPR in an attempt to save his life.

Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene at 12.20am yesterday. His uneaten chicken meal was in a bag by his side.

The Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command have launched a murder investigation and are appealing for witnesses.

A worker at Perfect Friend Chicken in East India Dock Road told the Standard the man, who was smartly dressed in a suit and tie, had become involved in a row with a teenager in a grey tracksuit while they waited for their food.

He said: “I don’t know what the argument was about but there was no pushing or shoving, no one threw a punch. They were swearing at each other but it was all over in about ten seconds.

“The boy, he was 16 or 17, went and told his friends outside who were on BMX bikes. 

“One of them who was older came in and put his arm around the man in the suit and said ‘you shouldn’t have spoken to him like that.’

“The guy held up his arms as if to say I’m sorry and that was that. There didn’t seem to be any animosity.

“They both took their food outside and that was it. Ten minutes later we saw all the police and ambulance turn up.

“The police came in later and asked to see the CCTV and they said they think he was killed over what happened in the shop.

“I can’t believe it. It’s shocking. It was just a silly exchange of words. You get it sometimes but it’s unbelievable it can end like this and life can be so cheap.

“The guy was clearly a businessman as he was wearing a very sharp grey suit. He was in a good mood. He said he’d been at a drinks party after work and was going home.”

Another shopkeeper said went to the scene after seeing the emergency services.

He said: “There was cyclist with a beard who had blood over his face from him trying to resuscitate the man by giving him mouth to mouth.

“I was told he had been badly beaten and there was huge wound to the back of his head.”

A post mortem examination is expected to take place today.

A Met police spokesman said: “At this early stage, it is believed the victim was involved in an altercation with a group of males inside Perfect Fried Chicken in East India Dock Road.

“The victim was then followed down the street and attacked. There have been no arrests and enquiries continue.”

anyone with any information should call the incident room on 020 8345 3985 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org.