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Fight for justice stepped up after Tenterden lawyer Gillian Metcalf killed in boat tragedy on holiday in Manaus in Brazil

The husband of a Tenterden lawyer killed in Brazil has been on a whistlestop visit to the country to plead for justice for his wife.

Charlie Metcalf and daughter Natasha, 20, spent three days in Manaus giving TV and media interviews to highlight their case.

Mr Metcalf's wife Gillian was killed when a river boat the family were travelling in while on holiday last September was hit by another vessel.

Gillian Metcalf, mother of two from Tenterden, in Brazil on the day before she died
Gillian Metcalf, mother of two from Tenterden, in Brazil on the day before she died

Seven months later, no one has been charged despite a police and Brazilian navy investigation recommending both boat drivers be prosecuted for culpable homicide.

Mr Metcalf, of Plummer Lane, Tenterden, said: "It is so frustrating. We just want justice for Gill.

"I am very concerned about the whole thing. We want to see the wheels of justice turning and the person responsible for Gill's death prosecuted."

Mrs Metcalf, 50, was in a boat on the Rio Negro in Amazonia with her husband and their daughters Natasha and Alice, 18, on their way to a hotel when another vessel struck them on September 5. The family was just days into a 12-day tour of Brazil.

Charlie Metcalf and daughter Natasha at home in Tenterden
Charlie Metcalf and daughter Natasha at home in Tenterden

Speaking from his hotel in Manus, Mr Metcalf said: "We are trying to put pressure on the authorities to prosecute the drivers of the boats.

"I have done paper and TV interviews and there is some impetus behind what we are doing – we want to get some action going.

"The police and navy have taken witness statements and passed them to the Brazilian version of the Crown Prosecution Service recommending that both drivers are prosecuted for culpable homicide, which is manslaughter in this country."

Gillian Metcalf was killed on the Rio Negro in the Brazilian Amazon
Gillian Metcalf was killed on the Rio Negro in the Brazilian Amazon

He added: "They have yet to say if they are going to charge the drivers or what is going to happen.

"It has all gone very quiet and we are not hearing anything from the Brazilian prosecutors. I have been asking to meet them but we cannot seem to get anywhere."

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