Kirsty MacColl's mum had sobering message for man who killed her in speedboat incident
Kirsty MacColl's late mother questioned how the man who killed her could 'live with himself' in wake of the singer's tragic death.
Jean MacColl, who passed away in May 2017, spent nearly a decade tirelessly campaigning for justice for her daughter following the horror speedboat crash in December 2000 that killed her. She launched the 'Justice for Kirsty Campaign' in the hopes of 'establishing whether the Mexican judicial system had investigated the case sufficiently', its website explains.
But in 2009, Jean called time on her crusade after exhausting all of her options, as authorities in Mexico officially closed the case 'and regarded this as the end of the matter'. Still, the former dancer firmly believed that the investigation into Kirsty's death was not handled correctly.
Discussing why she brought her costly battle - which was aided by donations from members of the public - to an end, Jean told The Guardian in 2009: "It felt dishonest to go on, to keep asking for money, when we don't feel we've got a chance. But that does not mean I am giving up. If anything turned up, I'd be there like a shot. We haven't achieved our ambition, but we have done our absolute best."
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'Fairytale of New York' singer Kirsty, 41, was fatally injured during a diving trip with her two young sons when a speedboat careered towards them and she was struck by one of the propellers.
She bravely shoved her children out of the vessel's path, but was killed instantly - leaving her sons 'swimming in Mummy's blood'.
Jose Cen Yam was driving the speedboat that entered the diving area where watercraft were restricted from entering - and 25 years after the deadly incident, he has now spoken out to share his side of the story.
Despite speculation that he may have taken the fall for someone else, the former deckhand insists that he has told the 'truth' about what happened from the get go. Cen Yam told the Mail on Sunday that he was behind the wheel of the boat that was owned by one of Mexico's wealthiest businessmen, González Nova.
Retail kingpin Nova was onboard the vessel with two of his sons, his daughter-in-law and his baby granddaughter when it careered into Kirsty. Jean alleged that he was the one who was actually driving at the time of the incident, despite Cen Yam taking the blame.
The ex-deckhand was sentenced to two years and ten months in prison after being found guilty in 2003 of culpable homicide in relation to Kirsty's death However, he ended up dodging jail time after instead paying a fine of $90 (approximately £60 in 2000) - and this really didn't sit well with Jean.
She described the small sum as a 'trivial amount' of money while speaking to the Irish Sunday Mirror in 2014.
"I had to tell her sons on Mother's Day that that's all their mother's life was valued at," Jean said.
"I was angry, I'm still angry. All I wanted was the truth. I didn't want his money; it's dirty. I just wanted him to tell me the truth, but he didn't have the nerve or the courage.
"I even wrote him a letter saying I just wanted the truth, but he never replied. I despise him completely.
"I don't know how he can live with himself."
Kirsty's former husband and father of her two sons, music producer Steve Lillywhite, has also raised questions about who was actually driving the speedboat.
The 70-year-old claimed that 'no one believes' that Cen Yam was actually responsible, as he told The Sun: "They said that it was a young kid driving, but no one believes that.
"I think they just didn’t want to have an enormous lawsuit because he was one of the richest guys in Mexico."
However, married grandad Cen Yam has insisted that nobody 'put pressure on him to admit to anything he didn't do' and added: "It was me. I have always told the truth about this."
Olivia Burke