Dead girl's mom faces police probe

(CNN) -- The mother of a British girl found dead in Goa last month is facing police questions about negligence, her lawyer said Tuesday.

Indian police plan to question Fiona MacKeown soon, perhaps in the next few days, lawyer Vikram Varma told CNN from the Indian state.

MacKeown's daughter, Scarlett Keeling, 15, was found dead on Goa's Anjuna Beach last month.

Scarlett had been on an extended vacation with her family, and was living with a male friend and his aunts while the rest of the family traveled to an adjoining Indian state.

Police arrested a bartender over the weekend in the case, which they are treating as a rape and murder.

Varma said that any questions about negligence by the mother were unfounded. He said MacKeown trusted the friend's family to take care of her daughter.

"She had left Scarlett in the care of two aunts," he said. "They had assured Fiona that they would look after her child. They were in touch with her four times a day."

The lawyer added: "I don't see the legal strength in such a line of questioning."

MacKeown believes the questions about negligence are a "diversion tactic" to turn attention away from what she considers a corrupt police investigation, the mother's spokeswoman, Dakini Runningbear, told CNN. Watch an explanation of how the police changed their focus in the case »

"These guys are just trying to grab at straws," he said.

A police spokesman could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Police arrested bartender Samson D'Souza, 29, on Sunday.

Inspector General Kishan Kumar said police had evidence that D'Souza raped Scarlett, and were trying to link him to her death.

A magistrate granted police another 14 days to hold D'Souza on Monday while the investigation continues, Kumar said. D'Souza has not been charged.

MacKeown has said she believes D'Souza was not the culprit and that police arrested him only to make it appear they were making progress.

She also criticized police for initially saying her daughter drowned despite clues that pointed to homicide. She demanded a second autopsy, after which police changed the cause of death.

Varma said the police investigation had been "nothing but murky."

"The place where this crime has happened, it's a small village, and when a crime happens all the people know about it," Varma said.

"But it took three weeks for a police officer to change this crime from death due to drowning in the sea to rape and murder." E-mail to a friend

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