Two Mauritian hotel workers showed “killing instincts” by strangling Michaela McAreavey after she caught them stealing, the jury at their trial has been told.
In his closing speech to the nine jurors, chief prosecuting barrister Mehdi Manrakhan described events at Legends Hotel on the day of the Irish woman’s killing last year as a “a robbery that turned into a brutal murder”.
He also reproached defence lawyers for “constantly pointing the finger” at Ms McAreavey’s widower John with “unseemly and grotesque theories” that were quickly abandoned.
Mr Manrakhan told the jury it had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the two accused men, Sandip Moneea (43) and Avinash Treebhoowoon (32) murdered Ms McAreavey, and that they acted with premeditation.
The 27-year-old teacher, the daughter of Tyrone football manager Mickey Harte, was killed at Legends Hotel while on honeymoon in Mauritius in January last year. The accused men deny the charges.
Mr Manrakhan said it would have been easier for Mr Moneea and Mr Treebhoowoon to “beg forgiveness” from Ms McAreavey and to walk away after she caught them taking cash from a wallet in her hotel room.
“The worst that could happen would have been the loss of their jobs,” he said.
“But they decided to murder her. This showed that they both possessed killing instincts and have no respect for human life.”
He pointed to evidence from the chief police medical officer, Sunil Kumar Gungadin, who concluded the cause of death was asphyxiation from compression to the neck.
“The amount of force used and the length of time the force was applied over her neck clearly showed that whoever killed Michaela had the intention to kill her,” the lawyer said.
Mr Treebhoowoon signed a detailed confession statement three days after the killing, but later denied he had given the statement and said he had been beaten and tortured by police before signing it.
Listing reasons why jurors should believe the confession, Mr Manrakhan said the evidence of Dr Gungadin relating to the victim’s injuries tallied with the version of events in Mr Treebhoowoon’s statement.
The postmortem report, dated 9th February 2011, came well after the confession, which was recorded on January 13th, so the police could not have fabricated the details, he said.
Further details in Mr Treebhoowoon’s confession matched undisputed evidence from a number of other witnesses at the trial, including John McAreavey; Mark LOlive, the supervisor at the restaurant where the couple had lunch shortly before the killing; and Ravindradeo Seetohul, a room service attendant.
On the claims of police brutality, Mr Manrakhan told the jury it was clear Mr Treebhoowoon “had come before you and regurgitated a concocted and rehearsed story.”
Moreover, medical evidence from three doctors who examined Mr Treebhoowoon in January last year “confirmed that the allegations of police brutality were totally unfounded.”
“Members of the jury, there are no politics to truth. There is right and there is wrong,” Mr Manrakhan said. “I have no doubt whatsoever that when you consider the evidence, objectively and dispassionately, that you will reach the right decision - that the two accused are guilty as charged.”
