John McAreavey named as suspect hours after death

The husband of murdered honeymooner Michaela McAreavey was described as a suspect in police logs in the hours after she was found dead, a court in Mauritius has heard.

However, a senior police officer told the trial of two hotel workers accused of her murder he did not know why that term — and the word accused — was used when referring to John McAreavey in official records.

Inspector Sunilduth Nucchedy insisted he had not identified any suspects at that time, and suggested the choice of terminology was an error. “I can’t say why the word ‘suspect’ has been mentioned in the diary book or the word ‘accused’,” he told the jury.