INVESTIGATION:POLICE IN Mauritius have said they would like Michaela Harte's husband John McAreavey to remain on the island for a few more days as they prepare their case against the three hotel employees charged in connection with her murder.
The island’s police commissioner Dhun Rampersad said: “I think the evidence we have collected so far is good but we are looking forward to strengthening our case.”
A lawyer for one of the three men charged in connection with Ms Harte’s death denied media reports yesterday that there had been further “confessions”.
Avinash Treebhoowoon’s lawyer Ravi Rutnah said his client was brought in for interrogation yesterday at the office of the major crime investigation team at the police headquarters in Port Louis. He said Mr Treebhoowoon refused to give any new statement.
Mr Rutnah told local newspaper Samedi Plushis client was depressed and wanted to have a rest before giving a new statement today.
Police commissioner Rampersad told RTÉ Radio's News at Onehe hoped the trials would be held within six months. Repatriating Ms Harte's body to Ireland would not be a problem and the police would give every assistance to her family to do this, he said.
“Concerning Mr McAreavey, I think it’s the opinion of our inquiry officer if he stays behind to help us with the inquiry it would be better.” He said this would take “a couple of days, probably early next week. We will do our best.”
Mr Rampersad said the authorities had “circumstantial sort of evidence” against the three men charged yesterday “but we are trying to find some other evidence to link them to the charge”.
The hotel records showed an electronic key card had been used to gain access to the room two minutes before Ms Harte used her card to enter the room.
The three men had access to the key cards for this room, he said, but police were not ruling out that someone else may have also had access to the room. It appeared the intruder may have been trying to steal items “and the lady caught him red-handed. I’m just guessing . . . we have a very open mind, you know. There might be some other guy who had done the job,” Mr Rampersad added.
He said the postmortem found Ms Harte had died as a result of asphyxia, following neck compression. “There are some signs, indications that she might have struggled,” he said. This was based on skin tissue removed from under her nails. Ms Harte’s body had been found by her husband, lying face up in the bath tub with the water still running.
At a press conference in Mauritius yesterday, Mr Rampersad expressed his deepest sympathy to Mr McAreavey and to her family and said the murder was a very rare event on the island. “For the past three years, no murder cases have been left unsolved.”