A MAN has been found guilty of the rape and murder of Irish backpacker Danielle McLaughlin in Goa, India eight years ago.
The 28-year-old was found deceased in the Canacona area of Goa in March 2017.
On Friday, 31-year-old Vikat Bhagat was found guilty at the District and Sessions Court and is due to be sentenced tomorrow.
“There was no other suspect or gang involved in Danielle’s death and Bhagat was solely responsible for cruelly ending her beautiful life,” read a statement from Ms McLaughlin’s mother Andrea Brannigan and sister Joleen McLaughlin Brannigan.
Death
Ms McLaughlin was born in Glasgow, Scotland but was raised in Buncrana, Co. Donegal.
She had travelled to Goa on a British passport with an Australian female friend and the pair were staying in a beach hut.
They had been celebrating Holi — a Hindu spring festival — at a nearby village.
Ms McLaughlin left the village at night and her body was found the next day.
A post-mortem examination found the former Liverpool John Moores student had died as a result of brain damage and strangulation.
Bhagat was arrested a day after Ms McLaughlin’s body was discovered but last year, her family revealed the case had been brought to court more than 250 times.
In the statement from solicitor Desmond Doherty, Ms McLaughlin’s mother and sister said they had ‘endured what has been effectively an eight-year murder trial’.
“We are content now with the judicial confirmation in public of what we already sadly knew. What further legal processes now take place we will observe,” it added.
“We are grateful to the court for allowing us, as is our right under the Indian legal system, representation at the trial.”
‘She lit up every room’
On the Truth For Danielle McLaughlin Facebook page, a separate statement said the family can now grieve the ‘immeasurable loss’.
“We had Danielle in our lives for 28 years and we wish we could have seen the women she would have became but because of Vikat she will forever be 28,” it read.
It added: “We have lost nearly eight years of our lives fighting for Danielle and we are so thankful that we now can start grieving her immeasurable loss.
“She was so much more than a daughter, sister and best friend.
“She lit up every room she entered and touch[ed] the lives of all who met her.
“She brought so much good into this world and he so quickly took her from this world with his cruelty.”
On Friday, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris said he hoped the verdict would finally bring closure to an ‘unimaginable tragedy’.
“I have been made aware of the guilty verdict issued in the murder trial concerning Danielle McLaughlin who was killed while travelling in India in 2017,” he said.
“I would like to pay tribute to Danielle’s family, and in particular, to her mother Andrea for her determination and resilience in the face of unimaginable tragedy.
“In partnership with the UK, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade — through the Embassy in New Delhi, Consulate General in Mumbai and Consular Assistance Unit in Dublin — has been consistently engaged on this case to seek progress towards a conclusion to the court case.
“While nothing can ease the pain of their loss, I hope that this verdict represents some closure for the family.
“My thoughts will remain with them as they continue to grieve the loss of their beloved daughter and sister. May Danielle rest in peace.”