Fairytale Of New York singer Kirsty MacColl will ‘never get justice’ after tragic death, step-mother says
The step-mother of Kirsty MacColl has lamented that she will 'never get justice' after her tragic death 24 years ago.
The 'Fairytale of New York' singer died while on holiday to Mexico with her sons and boyfriend.
On 18 December, 2000, they had been diving at Chankanaab Reef in an area where vessels were prevented from entering when a speedboat sailed into the restricted area.
MacColl spotted it before her sons did and was able to push her children out of the way, with son Jamie sustaining minor injuries to his head and body, while she was severely injured and died almost instantly.
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On board the speedboat were Mexican businessman Guillermo Gonzalez Nova, his two sons, a daughter-in-law, her baby and an employee called José Cen Yam.
Cen Yam confessed to being at the wheel of the speedboat and was convicted of wrongful killing, but his sentence of two years and 10 months in prison was changed to a £61 fine.
He was also ordered to pay some money to MacColl's family.
However, witnesses to MacColl's death said Cen Yam wasn't in charge of the boat at the time and Kirsty's mother Jean wrote an open letter to Gonzalez Nova saying that she didn't believe Cen Yam had killed her daughter.
Jean died in 2017, and Kirsty's stepmum Peggy Seeger recently told The Sun she doesn't think there will be any justice for MacColl.
"Kirsty’s death was a complete and utter criminal tragedy," the 88-year-old said, claiming that Gonzalez Nova was really responsible.
"She was a bright light and she was just snuffed out by a man who should never have been there. He tried to shift the responsibility on to someone else.
"It’s like the way our government works in that they say one thing….things happen that are absolutely horrendous and they work their way around it. And that’s what they did.
"Power does that. What it’s done to her sons’ whole lives."
She said that with the death of Jean Newlove there wasn't likely to be any justice for Kirsty's death.
She said: "The only person who could have brought them to justice was her mother, and she did try."
Jean had started the 'Justice for Kirsty' campaign, but brought it to an end in 2009 after Guillermo Gonzalez Nova's brother Carlos died aged 92 and she said it was not likely that she'd be able to achieve any more of her aims.
Topics: Celebrity, Music, World News
Joe Harker