Kirsty MacColl's ex husband Steve Lillywhite has claimed that there was a "cover up" surrounding her death to protect a Mexican billionaire.
The New England singer, who collaborated with the Shane MacGowan led Pogues for festive classic, 'Fairytale Of New York', died 25 years ago today on 18 December 2000, when she was 41 years old.
MacColl died while on holiday in Cozumel, Mexico with her sons and boyfriend, musician James Knight. The singer was surfacing from a scuba dive when she was hit by a speedboat, killing her instantly.
Now, record producer Lillywhite who was married to Kirsty MacColl from 1984 to 1994, has claimed that he has doubts over the circumstances surrounding his ex wife's tragic death in Mexico.
Lillywhite who co produced 'Fairytale of New York', told The Sun: “They said that it was a young kid driving [the speedboat], but no one believes that", adding that the person responsible avoided justice due to a "cover up".
He continued: “I think they just didn’t want to have an enormous lawsuit because he was one of the richest guys in Mexico".
Steve Lillywhite claimed that the speedboat which fatally injured Kirsty MacColl could be traced back to Mexican businessman Guillermo González Nova. However, deck hand José Cen Yam was found behind the wheel, and was ultimately sentenced to 2 years and 10 months in prison.
However, Yam aged 26 at the time avoided jail by paying a fine of just £61, leading to claims that he had been paid to say that he was driving the boat.
MacColl's family had previously protested against this verdict, calling Yam a "fall guy" and saying “no one was really held accountable for what happened”.
Certain eye witness accounts had contradicted Yam's version of events, alleging that the boat had been driven much faster than he had admitted. Reports had also suggested that González Nova was on board the boat, and the only person with a licence to drive it. The billionaire tycoon died in 2009, according to The Standard.
Last month, MacColl's son spoke to The Mirror about the lengths that he and his family went to to get justice for his late mother.
“We spent many years as a family trying to get justice. I think we managed to raise awareness and, if it saved just one person, I am happy about that, but what we would have liked was some accountability", Louis said. “It was never about money, it was about someone taking responsibility".
“They called us ‘money-grabbing’, which just spurred me on to try harder to get someone held to account. But we were dealing with the richest man in the most corrupt country...".
Louis, who was just 14 years old when his mother died, recalled the "traumatic" nature of her death, and said that he and his older brother Jamie "still have flashbacks".
“What I can say is it was really grim. I can’t remember the exact details of that trip to Mexico but I can remember being in the water and thinking, ‘Where’s Jamie?”, Louis said. “It was and is so graphic. We could only have been in the water a few minutes afterwards before they got us out. I don’t really remember too much".
Last month, the Pogues shared footage of their first ever live performance of 'Fairytale Of New York'. Check this out and Nova's report here.
