Two face trial for death of Devon girl Scarlett Keeling

Police in Goa initially said 15-year-old Scarlett had drowned

Two men accused of killing a Devon teenager in the Indian state of Goa are to go on trial next week, the family's lawyer has said.

Fifteen-year-old Scarlett Keeling, from Bideford, was found dead on a beach in Anjuna in February 2008.

Samson D'Souza, 28, and Placido Carvalho, who is in his 30s, have been charged with culpable homicide.

Vikram Verma, lawyer for Scarlett's mother, Fiona MacKeown, said the trial was due to start on 17 March.

Scarlett and her family were on a six-month holiday in India when she was left in the care of a 25-year-old tour guide while the rest of her family went travelling.

When Scarlett's body was found on the beach, Indian investigators said she had drowned.

However, a second post-mortem examination carried out at the insistence of Ms MacKeown revealed evidence of attack injuries.

India's Central Bureau of Investigation started a fresh investigation which led to the arrest of the two men.

Mr D'Souza and Mr Carvalho, who are currently on bail, have also been charged with intent to outrage a woman's modesty, administering a drug with intent to harm and destruction of evidence.