INDIAN POLICE HAVE said that the young Irish woman killed in the popular tourist destination of Goa was also raped, after they charged a 23-year-old man with her murder.
The body of 28-year-old Danielle McLaughlin was found in a field near a beach in the south of Goa on Tuesday.
Vikat Bhagat, a 23-year-old Indian national, has been charged with the murder of the Buncrana native.
Grainy CCTV footage shows some of McLaughlin’s last movements where she is seen walking down a road with a man police have identified as Bhagat.
Deputy Superintendent Sammy Tavares, of the Goan police, told AFP: “We had sent the body for a post-mortem examination. Reports have confirmed that Danielle was raped before the murder.
Besides the earlier charge of murder we have also booked him for rape. The accused will be in police custody until March 22 after which he’ll be produced in court.
Tavares added that she had been found with injuries to the head and face. Bhagat was arrested only a few hours after the discovery of her body near Palolem Beach.
A vigil was said to have been held in Goa by expats and backpackers at the scene of her murder, where people paid tribute to the 28-year-old.
United in grief
McLaughlin was born in Glasgow and grew up in Buncrana, Co Donegal before going to university in Liverpool.
She had left Ireland in February to go travelling and was in the coastal Canacona area celebrating the Holi festival.
Her mother, Andrea Brannigan, said that the young woman will be “sadly missed by us all”.
“The family would like to express our thanks to all who have got in touch since receiving this awful news,” Brannigan told the Press Association.
As you can expect we are finding it very difficult at this trying time. We want to thank the Irish and British consulates, along with Colin from the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, and many friends who have assisted at this time. Danielle will be sadly missed by us all.
Local Sinn Féin senator Pádraig Mac Lochlainn said that the people of Buncrana and Inishowen were “united in grief with the McLaughlin family”.
With reporting from AFP.
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