NEWS and REPORTS > World News

Defence urges new probe for Mauritius murder

(1/1)

iolsa:
Port Louis - Defence lawyers for two hotel workers on trial for killing the daughter of a top Irish sports personality while she honeymooned in  Mauritius have called for the investigation to be reopened.

“Our country's image in the rest of the world will not be mended  by sentencing two innocent men to 60 years in hell, while the real culprits are still at large,” lawyer Sanjeev Teeluckdharry said Monday.

Avinash Treebhowoon, 31, and Sandip Moonea, 42, have been on trial in the Indian Ocean island since May for the killing of Michaela McAreavey, 27, the daughter of Tyrone Gaelic football boss  Mickey Harte.

McAreavey, a school teacher, was found strangled in her room in January 2011 at the hotel where the two men were employed.

“There is need for the reopening of the inquiry,” Teeluckdharry said during the defence summing up, calling for evidence to be sent  abroad for DNA analysis and for other witnesses to be interviewed.

His colleague Rama Valayden lambasted what he called the “amateurish” performance of the Mauritian police in the case.

Wrapping up its case on Friday, the prosecution said Treebhowoon  and Moonea were guilty of “barbaric murder”.

The judge will sum up the case on Thursday before the jury begins its deliberations.

Mauritius, a volcanic island surrounded by coral reefs and lagoons, is best known for top-end tourism and as a honeymoon destination, welcoming nearly one million tourists a year. - Sapa-AFP



IOLSA

Navigation

[0] Message Index