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Observer | Singer Kirsty's family see hope for justice

Singer Kirsty's family see hope for justice

Antony Barnett and Vanessa Thorpe
Sunday September 19, 2004

The Observer

When Kirsty MacColl died in 2000 after being hit by a speedboat while scuba-diving in Mexico, her many friends in the musical world from Bono to Billy Bragg were shocked by what seemed then like a tragic accident.

One the most admired female singer-songer writers of her generation, MacColl came from a musical dynasty that helped to shape British popular music.

Since her death, relatives of the singer led by her mother, Jean MacColl, have battled to find out who really killed Kirsty. They have long suspected a cover-up and despite two investigations believe the real culprit - the son of a millionaire retail tycoon - has never been brought to justice.

Last week the family secured an important breakthrough when the Mexican Foreign Secretary, Luis Ernesto Debez, visited the House of Commons. At a meeting of the All Parliamentary Group on Mexico he told politicians he would review the case and act if the proper processes had not been followed or if there was any evidence of corruption.

Jean MacColl welcomed this development as 'excellent news'. She said: 'We thank the Mexican government for their help and now hope these words are followed up by action and we can finally get justice for Kirsty.'

Baroness Miller, vice-chair of the parliamentary group, said: 'He was very well briefed on the case and promised to look at it again. I came away very optimistic.'

Last year, an illiterate deckhand, Jose Cen Yam, was found guilty of culpable homicide after he was alleged to have been driving the powerboat at the time it tore into Kirsty. Although he was sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison he was allowed to pay a £61 fine and walk free. Yet the family's own investigation, which involved hiring private investigators, unearthed a range of witnesses suggesting a cover-up.

The powerboat in question, the 31ft Percalito was registered offshore in Guernsey and belonged to Guillermo Gonzalez Nova, the 67-year-old boss of one of Mexico's largest companies, Comercial Mexicana, which owns a chain of stores and restaurants. It emerged that Nova was on the boat with his family including his two sons and granddaughter. MacColl's family believe that one of the tycoon's sons was at the helm.

MacColl was diving with her two teenage sons at the Chankanaab Reef, about 300m offshore, a popular site where boats were prohibited from travelling more than four knots. The twin-engined Percalito was travelling more than five times that.

The initial police investigation revealed that Cen Yam's main job was to carry out maintenance on the Percalito and he had no licence to drive the boat, nor had he ever taken the Percalito's helm before. At the trial he was unable to answer basic questions and was confused between left and right.

Dive-master, Ivan Diaz, who was with the singer when she was hit, said in a statement to the authorities: 'After they ran over us, I saw Cen Yam jump forwards from the back of the boat, to the controls. I couldn't see who was at the wheel because the bow was so high out of the water.' Although he did not see who was at the wheel, Diaz said Nova's two sons were in the front, nearest the controls.

In March, Mexican federal authorities agreed to reconsider the case after Kirsty's mother visited the island of Cozumel where the accident took place. Yet hopes of a breakthrough were dashed when the federal prosecutor abandoned the investigation.

The MacColl family were outraged by the decision particularly after they found that the key witness, the supermarket tycoon, was never interviewed. Jean MacColl hopes to appeal directly to Mexico's attorney-general. She also intends to stage a fundraising concert for the Justice For Kirsty Campaign.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004