Football manager’s daughter strangled on Mauritius honeymoon
The daughter of Tyrone GAA manager Mickey Harte has been murdered on her honeymoon in Mauritius.
She was found by her husband in their hotel room at the island’s four-star Legends Hotel.
A post-mortem today revealed Michaela Harte, a 27-year-old teacher, was strangled.
According to reports, she went up to her room to rest on Monday after lunch and make a cup of tea.
When she failed to re-appear, her husband, John McAreavey, a Down GAA footballer, went to find her and discovered her body in their room at about 3 pm local time.
The hotel room was in disarray. A hotel porter was nearby at the time and a second member of staff was then called to help.
The Daily Mail said the staff member tried to resuscitate the young teacher for half an hour by giving her mouth-to-mouth and heart massage.
Police said they are examining CCTV footage from the hotel’s grounds and have a list of 10 suspects, who will be questioned later today.
McAreavey has been questioned but is not a suspect.
The Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) and Naiade Resorts issued a statement saying they were extremely saddened to receive news of the murder.
Dr Karl Mootoosamy, director of MTPA, said: “Our thoughts are with Michaela’s family and friends during this terrible tragedy. It is the first time that a murder has ever taken place in a hotel in Mauritius and the island’s extremely low crime rate means this has come as a terrible shock to the whole nation.
“MTPA is meeting with Michaela’s parents tomorrow morning (Wednesday 12 January) to extend its support and the entire island is in mourning.â€
Paul Jones, chief executive officer of the Naiade group, says: “Every possible support will be given to the bereaved families and we thank the Government for the assistance and cooperation that it has extended to us and to the families as well.â€
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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