Latest: Man facing rape and murder charges over Danielle McLaughlin's death in Goa
The suspect in the killing of an Irish woman at a tourist resort in Goa will face murder and rape charges, police in the Indian state have said.
- Danielle McLaughlin was found dead in India yesterday;
- A murder investigation has been launched;
- A man is in custody in connection with her death;
- CCTV footage of her final moments has been released.
- Post-mortem confirms she was sexually assaulted before being strangled
The suspect in the killing of an Irish woman at a tourist resort in Goa will face murder and rape charges, police in the Indian state have said.
Umesh Gaonkar, a superintendent with Goa Police, said a post-mortem examination showed that Danielle McLaughlin suffered cerebral damage and constriction of the neck, causing her death.
The 28-year-old victim from Buncrana, Co Donegal, was found dead in a secluded spot in Canacona, a popular area for holidaymakers, on Tuesday morning.
Local media reported the former Liverpool John Moores University student was discovered unclothed and she had marks on her head and face.
Mr Gaonkar said a suspect, a local criminal arrested a day after a farmer discovered Ms McLaughlin's body, would face rape and murder charges.
She had travelled to Goa with an Australian female friend and the pair were staying in a beach hut.
They had been celebrating Holi - a Hindu spring festival - on Monday night at a nearby village.
She left the village late at night and her body was found the next day, said Mr Gaonkar.
CCTV footage has emerged of Ms McLaughlin's final movements in which she is seen apparently walking along a street with the suspect.
Deputy superintendent Sammy Tavares told local reporters that a man named Vikas Bhagat, 24, had been arrested.
Bhagat had confessed to raping the victim and killing her, he said.
A two-wheeled vehicle and some clothes, reported to have bloodstains on them, have also been seized as part of the investigation.
Christy Duffy, a close friend of Ms McLaughlin's from Buncrana, told the Press Association her body has been released from the post-mortem and would likely begin a journey home to Ireland on Friday.
It is expected her remains will travel to Mumbai, Dubai and then Dublin.
The journey is expect to take up to six days, prolonging an agonising wait for her heartbroken mother Andrea Brannigan.
Ms McLaughlin was the the eldest of her five daughters.
"Two friends who reside in Australia are currently travelling to Goa to meet with the body to accompany it for the repatriation process," Mr Duffy said.
He has raised more than 30,000 euro (£26,000) to help with the costs and to "give her the send-off she deserves".
Thanking donors "from the bottom of my heart", Mr Duffy said it "has taken additional stress out of the equation, the family are holding up as well as can be expected and will be relieved to have her back on home soil".
A post-mortem examination has confirmed that murdered Irish woman Danielle McLaughlin was sexually assaulted before being strangled.
The post-mortem was cartied out today on Danielle's body by a panel of two forensic doctors, reports the Herald Goa.
The examination showed evidence of sexual assault and "compression of neck". Strangulation has been named as the cause of death.
Danielle's remains will be handed over to the consulate and her family tomorrow.
A report has been submitted to Canacona police.
A page set up to help with repatriation and funeral expenses for Irish woman Danielle McLaughlin has exceeded its target in under 24 hours.
A murder investigation has been launched in India, after the 28-year-old's body was found in Goa on Tuesday.
A friend of Ms McLaughlin, who was from Buncrana in Co Donegal, set up a 'Go Fund Me' page with a target of €10,000.
It has raised almost €30,000 in under one day.
CCTV footage of murder victim Danielle McLaughlin has been posted online.
RTÉ reports that CCTV footage of Ms McLaughlin walking along a street with the suspect has emerged.
They say it shows her walking along a street with a suspect in the investigation.
CCTV footage emerges of Danielle McLaughlin in Goa with murder suspect https://t.co/pzZGVIDEsq pic.twitter.com/kG9v51QN5n
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) March 16, 2017
A man being questioned in connection with the murder of Donegal woman Danielle McLaughlin in India has yet to be formally charged.
The backpacker, who was born in Glasgow but raised in Buncrana, was found dead on a beach on Tuesday.
A post mortem on her body is expected to be carried out today.
Michael Safi says the man is a well known criminal in the local area.
"The court has granted the police seven days custody to finish investigating the matter, and that includes doing things like gathering evidence and conducting a post mortem examination.
"It will be early next week before they are formally presented before court and formally charged," he said.
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