The publication of pictures of the body of Michaela McAreavey “was done for sensationalism”, a prosecution solicitor told a Mauritius court yesterday.

A hotel worker who confessed to murdering Michaela McAreavey had his head held under water and was almost suffocated with a towel during interrogation, a court heard.

A hotel worker who confessed to murdering Michaela McAreavey had his head held under water and was almost suffocated with a towel during interrogation, a court heard today.

One of the men charged with murdering Michaela McAreavey alleges that police tried to suffocate him with a towel and held his head in a bucket of water while he was interrogated, a court in Mauritius heard today.

Police catastrophically failed to take crime scene photos that may have helped in the Michaela McAreavey murder investigation, a trial heard.