I owe it to Michaela to fight to last, says widower as murder probe is reopened

THE husband of honeymoon murder victim Michaela Mcareavey has vowed to keep fighting for justice.

John Mcareavey found his wife strangled in their luxury Mauritian hotel in January 2011.

He said his resolve to see the Co Tyrone woman’s killers caught and punished is undiminished by the passage of time or the toll his fight for justice has had.

Speaking after a new police investigation was launched into the murder, Mr Mcareavey said it would be impossible to give up hope.

“It’s very painful every time I decide to say something more. It gives me great anxiety and stress,” he told the Sunday Independent.

“There are wounds there... I have often asked myself: ‘Can I continue to do this and to bear that weight?’ But the reality is I couldn’t contemplate not doing it. How could I reconcile in my head that I am going to leave it now?”

Mr Mcareavey’s nightmare began when his wife returned to their hotel suite alone after lunch. The 27-year-old, the daughter of Tyrone GAA managkill er Mickey Harte, was found dead in the bath a short time later.

Two hotel workers, Avinash Treebhoowoon and Sandip Moneea, were arrested and tried in connection with the death. They were both later acquitted.

Almost 10 years on the lack of justice haunts and hurts Mr Mcareavey.

He recently made headlines for criticising a deal between the country’s tourism authorities and Liverpool FC, before later confirming that investigators have chosen to re-examine the case.

The accountant, who has since remarried, is seeking assistance from the Irish Government in pressuring the Mauritian authorities into bringing about a retrial.

“I want the two men who were previously acquitted arrested again for her murder,” he said. “They deserve to be in court again. They deserve to sweat again.

“This isn’t about vengeance. It’s about right and wrong. If you someone, you have to pay. I just have to continue to think that there is an opportunity to get justice because Michaela deserves that. It’s the least of what she deserves.”

Mr Mcareavey said he would be open to participating in a cold case documentary study into Michaela’s death if he felt it would help secure justice.

He added: “I have been approached by God knows how many programme makers over the years... I would never say never to anything that I felt could help.

“I owe it to Michaela to fight to the very last.”

The comments come as the former Mauritian Attorney General said guests at the island’s Legends Hotel, where the murder took place, hold the key to solving the case.

Rama Valayden, who represented Moneea at trial, said investigators should refocus their efforts to interviewing those who were staying at the hotel at the time.

“I am still investigating and I firmly believe the two accused are innocent,” he told the Sunday Mirror.

“The neighbours will be vital and will shed new light. I believe we owe the truth to Ms Harte.”

❝ It’s painful every time I decide to say something more. It gives me great anxiety and stress