THE British teenager allegedly raped and killed on a beach in southern India had traces of cocaine, morphine and alcohol in her system, police have revealed.
Last night, Scarlett Keeling's mother, Fiona McKeown, claimed police added the drugs to her daughter's body after death in order to cover up the fact that she was murdered.
A report by the chief pathologist in Goa also confirmed that the 15-year-o
ld's head had been forcibly held under water for up to 10 minutes before she died.
His findings revealed that the amount of drugs in her body would not have been enough to kill her.
McKeown said the autopsy proved her allegations of police involvement in attempts to hide the fact that the young girl had been murdered.
Scarlett's bruised and partially clothed body was found on February 18 on Anjuna beach in Goa.
Her mother said yesterday: "I want the police brought to justice. They have interfered with the evidence. This is proof. This is something that we knew had happened all along.
"I feel very shocked. My daughter had a horrible death and fought to the end.
"I looked at her body, and the bruising on her head and face and shoulder is consistent with this. She struggled, she kicked, she tried to stay alive.
"I'm just horrified that the police are still covering up my daughter's death. Who are they covering for? It must be someone very important."
Her lawyer, Vikram Varma, who is expecting to see a copy of the report tomorrow, said he understood it gave Scarlett's cause of death as drowning by asphyxiation.
"That would make it forced homicide, which is murder. It is what we've been saying all along and what the police have been trying to cover up."
McKeown has vociferously argued from the outset that her daughter's death was not natural and that the authorities were involved in trying to cover up the real facts behind it. Initially, detectives claimed Scarlett drowned after wandering into the sea when drunk, but several witnesses subsequently came forward to dispute the allegation.
After the autopsy details were released, local police chief Kishen Kumar said: "Now the narcotic drugs and alcohol form a part of the chain of events that included the rape and drowning of a girl who could not defend herself."
Two men have already been arrested in connection with Scarlett's death and Kumar said police are nearing the end of their investigation.
The suspects were allegedly seen drinking at a bar with Scarlett the night she died.
Kumar earlier said one of the men had plied the teenager with a mix of alcohol and drugs and the other had raped her. Police have at least 10 witnesses in the case, two of whom witnessed the alleged rape, Kumar said.
The case has been an embarrassment for Goa police and a potentially devastating blow for the region's tourism industry.
A senior police officer was suspended last week because of "serious lapses" in the investigation into Scarlett's death, but Kumar has not elaborated on the reasons for the suspension.
Scarlett had been on holiday in India with her mother, her mother's boyfriend and her six siblings.
But at the time of her death, her family was travelling elsewhere in the country while she was being "cared for" by a 25-year-old local man.
The full article contains 569 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
