Enough evidence for the Michaela McAreavey murder trial to proceed

THE two men accused of the murder of Michaela McAreavey will almost certainly face a murder trial in Mauritius after a judge said there was enough evidence for them to be “committed for trial”.
By The Newsroom
Published 21st Jul 2011, 15:35 BST

The magistrate in a preliminary enquiry on the tropical island on Monday said the Director of Public Prosecutions can now send Sandip Mooneea and Avinash Treebhoowoon for trial on the murder charges, try them on lesser charges or scrap the charges altogether.

The findings have come after a month-long inquiry on the island where Michaela McAreavey was found dead while on honeymoon in January with her new husband John.

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The couple had been married just 10 days previously in her local church in Ballymacilroy. Michaela, daughter of Tyrone manager Mickey Harte, was found dead in room 1025 of the Legends Hotel by her husband after leaving him by the poolside to get biscuits from their room.

Meanwhile following the Magistrate’s ruling earlier this week, relatives of the two accused continued to protest their innocence and said they were shocked things had gone this far.

Reshma Treebhoowoonm, the wife of Avinash, cried and said: “My husband is innocent. It is very hard that we are now contemplating a trial at the Assizes. I wished it had ended here. I will keep on supporting my husband and I firmly believe that he is innocent.”

Mononeea’s wife said: “The real culprit is out having a good time while innocents will probably face murder trial at the Assizes.”

The DPP’s decision is understood to be due in a few weeks.