18/06/2012

CCTV 'No Longer Relevant' At Mauritius Trial

Footage of an arguing couple has been discounted as evidence in the trial of two men accused of murdering a County Tyrone newlywed.

The trial in Mauritius was adjourned over the weekend as lawyers argued on Friday over whether or not the McAreaveys were visible arguing at reception in CCTV footage from the Legends Hotel where Michaela McAreavey was strangled.

The court heard that prosecution lawyers, police and reception staff thought it was a different, German, couple also staying at the hotel.

Defence lawyers had claimed the couple was Michaela and her husband John, but they today informed the court that they would drop that line of questioning.

Judge Mr Justice Prithviraj Fecknah told the jury they no longer needed to try to determine the identity of the couple in the CCTV footage.

He said: "As far as you are concerned as members of the jury you need not delve any further into this aspect of the evidence."

The footage in question was filmed in January last year, about 15 minutes after the prosecution claim two hotel workers killed Michaela McAreavey.

Lawyers for the prosecution claim the 27-year-old teacher was strangled when she interrupted a burglary.

Former room attendant Avinash Treebhoowoon, 31, and floor supervisor Sandip Moneea, 42, deny her murder.

(NE)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

05 September 2018
Couple Die In Omagh Crash
A couple, aged in their 70s, have died in a crash in Omagh. The collision, between a car and a lorry, happened on the Doogary Road just before 3pm on Monday, 03 September. The man and woman died at the scene of the crash. The lorry driver was not injured.
30 September 2015
Jean McConville's Daughter To Take Civil Action
The daughter of Jean McConville has instructed lawyers to bring a civil action against those allegedly responsible for the abduction and murder of her mother in 1972.
13 June 2018
Man Charged With Murdering Toddler In L'Derry
A man has been charged over the murder of a three-year-old boy on L'Derry last year. Kayden McLaughlin was found dead at a house in the Bogside area on 17 September, 2017. The accused, aged 23, is to appear in court on Wednesday, 13 June.
14 March 2013
John McAreavey Gets Payout
John McAreavey, the husband of Michaela who was murdered on her honeymoon in Maritius in January 2011, has been awarded damages after the Irish Daily Mail published still photographs of another couple arguing. The newspaper expressed its apologies for the publication of the CCTV photographs.
24 April 2012
Couple Go On Trial Accused Of Murdering Granddaughter
The grandparents of a severely disabled teenage girl who died more than ten years ago have gone on trial at Belfast Crown Court accused of her murder. David Johnstone, 88, and his wife Sarah, 86, from Cranwood Drive in Glengormley, deny manslaughter and charges of child cruelty against their granddaughter Rebecca McKeown, 14, in March 2001.