THE GRIEVING FATHER of murdered Michaela Harte has pleaded with the local press in Mauritius to give his son-in-law the time to grieve in peace.
Tyrone football manager Mickey Harte told reporter Adrian Logue on RTÉ’s Six One news this evening that his family were “all devastated” by the death of Michaela (27), who was found dead in her hotel room at the Hotel Legends in Mauritius yesterday. She and her husband, Down footballer John McAreavey, while on honeymoon.
“Michaela was a lovely girl,” said an obviously distressed Harte. “She was a beautiful girl, couldn’t be nicer, and God love her, we are so so sorry.
And we’re equally sorry for poor John – John McAreavey, her husband – whom she adored, and he adored her. They didn’t get so long to share their live with each other. It’s just such a shame.
Saying that the McAreavey family had become “so special” to his own through Michaela’s marriage, Harte said the thoughts of his own family were with John as he remained in Mauritius. He said:
He’s had an awful time.. our hearts go out to him. And I would ask anybody in the press corps out there – please respect his privacy. The lad is devastated.
We’re speaking on his behalf: he’s devastated. Through us, he wants to say: leave him alone. Let him grieve. He’s in such a lonely place, and even his own family members aren’t out there yet. So please, please, back off.
Michaela and John were married on December 30, and had arrived in Mauritius from Dubai, on the second leg of their honeymoon. Michaela was found strangled in the bathroom of their hotel room yesterday. Post-mortem results later confirmed that she had died from ‘asphyxia due to compression of the neck’.
Police investigating the death, which is being treated as murder, were earlier questioning six suspects in relation to Michaela’s killing, but say they will not be making any further announcements until 5am Irish time.
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