Honeymooner 'Cried Out As She Was Strangled'

A woman on her honeymoon in Mauritius cried out as she was strangled by her attackers in her hotel room, a court has heard.

Michaela McAreavey from Northern Ireland was murdered at a luxury resort in the north of the island in January last year.

She was having afternoon tea with her new husband John McAreavey when she momentarily left him to get some biscuits from their room.

It is claimed she disturbed a burglary and was strangled.

Prosecution counsel Medhi Manrakkan said hotel cleaner Raj Theekoy heard a "female voice crying in pain inside room 1025".

As the cleaner hid nearby he witnessed one of the two defendants, 30-year-old Abinash Treebhowoon, leave the room while wiping something from his face, the court was told.

Her body was discovered shortly after by her husband.

The court heard a medical examiner said Mrs McAreavey had "several bruises and abrasions to the neck and body and she died as a result of asphyxiation to the neck through compression".

"Wounds and blows have been inflicted by the accused with the intention of killing her," Mr Manrakkan said.

The lawyer described Mr McAreavey finding his wife dead as "his worst nightmare".

"In the bathroom John saw Michaela lying senseless in the bathtub."

The first witnesses - police officers who attended the scene - were also expected to be called to give evidence.

Two hotel workers, Abinash Treebhowoon and 42-year-old Sandeep Monea, have both pleaded not guilty to the murder.

The prosecutor told the court Treebhoowoon had confessed to police about his role in the murder, which he said was a robbery gone wrong, but the jury later heard claims that he accused the police of beating the statement out of him.

The case has generated widespread interest on the island. The Irish press has also arrived en masse.

The murder was all the more shocking as Mrs McAreavey was a well-known figure in Northern Ireland. Her father is the celebrated Gaellic football manager, Mickey Harte.

The couple's families are attending the trial, as are Irish police liaison officers.

John McAreavey is due to give evidence early next week. The couple, who were childhood sweethearts, had been married just two weeks.

The trial is expected to last three weeks.