Police in India have arrested and charged a man with the rape and murder of Scarlett Keeling, who was found dead on a beach in Goa. Placido Carvalho, who was arrested last night, is said to have been one of the men seen with the 15-year-old the night before she died.He appeared in court in Mapusa today on charges of raping and murdering the Devon teenager, according to senior police official Bosco George.
In a statement, Mr Carvalho claimed he had seen Scarlett arriving at Lui's bar at about 3.30am on Feb 18 - the night she was killed - in a state of "total inebriation".At about 4.40am he says he saw her leave with a man named Murli and that they were followed five minutes later by Samson D'Souza.
Mr D'Souza, 28, was arrested earlier this week and detained on suspicion of the statutory rape of Scarlett.
A third suspect, who has not yet been identified, was apparently arrested earlier today according to Vikram Varma, a lawyer who is acting for Scarlett's mother Fiona MacKeown. But there has been no official confirmation of this.
Miss MacKeown has been critical of the police investigation which last night saw a senior police officer suspended for "serious lapses" in the case.
She has written to the Indian prime minister claiming that police attempted to cover up the crime as an accidental drowning.
Goan police only started to treat Scarlett's death as murder after a second post mortem, carried out following pressure from Miss MacKeown, showed her daughter was covered in bruises.
Detectives are also hoping to question Scarlett's boyfriend, Julio Lobo, a 25-year-old Goan tour guide with whom the teenager had been staying.
According to Mr Carvalho's statement, Michael Manyon, a British tourist also known as Masala Mike, was also present in the hours leading up to Scarlett's death.
Police issued a ports and airports alert for Mr Manyon yesterday.
Scarlett's mother and siblings were touring a neighbouring state when the teenager's half-naked body was found in the resort of Anjuna.
The 43-year-old, a mother of nine, from Bideford, Devon, said the police were not giving her any information.
Meanwhile Kishan Kumar, a senior police officer, has said Miss MacKeown could still be investigated for negligence because she left her daughter at the resort.
A third suspect, who has not yet been identified, was apparently arrested earlier today according to Vikram Varma, a lawyer who is acting for Scarlett's mother Fiona MacKeown. But there has been no official confirmation of this.
Miss MacKeown has been critical of the police investigation which last night saw a senior police officer suspended for "serious lapses" in the case.
She has written to the Indian prime minister claiming that police attempted to cover up the crime as an accidental drowning.
Goan police only started to treat Scarlett's death as murder after a second post mortem, carried out following pressure from Miss MacKeown, showed her daughter was covered in bruises.
Detectives are also hoping to question Scarlett's boyfriend, Julio Lobo, a 25-year-old Goan tour guide with whom the teenager had been staying.
According to Mr Carvalho's statement, Michael Manyon, a British tourist also known as Masala Mike, was also present in the hours leading up to Scarlett's death.
Police issued a ports and airports alert for Mr Manyon yesterday.
Scarlett's mother and siblings were touring a neighbouring state when the teenager's half-naked body was found in the resort of Anjuna.
The 43-year-old, a mother of nine, from Bideford, Devon, said the police were not giving her any information.
Meanwhile Kishan Kumar, a senior police officer, has said Miss MacKeown could still be investigated for negligence because she left her daughter at the resort.
