THE killer of pop star Kirsty MacColl will never be brought to justice, her stepmother says.
Kirstyknown for hits such as Fairytale Of New York and A New England, died in 2000 at the age of 41 when she was struck by a motorboat while diving with her sons, then aged 13 and 15, off the coast of Mexico.
2
2
The vessel, which was moving quickly and illegally in a designated diving area, was controlled by Guillermo Gonzalez Nova, multi-millionaire and chairman of a Mexican supermarket chain, but an employee of his took the blame and was fined just $2,240 instead of a 34-month prison sentence.
Kirsty's mother Jean Newlove, who led the Justice For Kirsty campaign, died in 2017.
Peggy Seeger88, who was married to Kirsty's father, singer-songwriter and activist Ewan MacColl, from 1977 until his death in 1989, said: “Kirsty's death was a complete and utter criminal tragedy.
“She was a bright light and she was just snuffed out by a man who should never have been there. He tried to pass the buck to someone else.
“It's just like the way our government works: they say one thing: things happen that are absolutely terrible and they work around them. And that's what they did.
“Power does that. What it did to her sons' entire lives.'
When asked if there will ever be justice for Kirsty, Peggy said: “No. The only person who could have brought them to justice was her mother, and she tried too.
“Especially because she had been married to Ewan for a while, she was politically aware that when these people lock themselves behind their power, you cannot reach them, especially abroad.”
Veteran singer and musician Peggy, who will perform at the Cambridge Folk Festival on July 28, adds of Kirsty: “Ahhhhh. She was my stepdaughter. Unfortunately we didn't work together. She was brilliant. She was very versatile. She had wonderful ideas.
“I think she would have flown. But she was terrified of being on stage. She overcame it for a while.