McAreavey witnesses 'not interviewed'

THE DETECTIVE who led the inquiry into the killing of Michaela McAreavey has admitted that potential witnesses were not interviewed by police.

Chief Insp Luciano Gerard of the Major Crime Investigation Team said police did not take statements from a number of hotel guests who were staying in the same block as Ms McAreavey and her husband, John, at Legends Hotel in Grand Gaube, Mauritius.

He was giving evidence on the ninth day of the trial of two hotel workers accused of murdering Ms McAreavey, the daughter of Tyrone football manager Mickey Harte, while she was on honeymoon with her husband last year.

Chief Insp Gerard told the court that hotel CCTV footage was not used to establish where certain suspects had been on January 10th last year – the day of the killing. Only the movements of John McAreavey were traced.

Under cross-examination from a lawyer for Sandip Moneea, one of the accused men, the detective conceded that he was not aware that, after police handed the McAreaveys’ room back two weeks later, a number of items — a receipt for biscuits, a red bikini and a belt — were found inside by cleaners.

Focusing on the police handling of the inquiry, Mr Moneea’s barrister, Rama Valayden, put a number of specific questions to Chief Insp Gerard about the early stages of the investigation.

He listed the occupants of the rooms near the murder scene in the hotel’s deluxe block one by one. Each time the officer responded “no” when asked was a statement taken from the guests.

Mr Valayden then referred to a husband and wife who had just booked into room 1125, which was above room 1025, the McAreaveys’ room. “Do you know there was also a German couple, Mr and Mrs Markus Schaer, who arrived at the hotel on January 10th around noon,” he asked.

The lawyer claimed the couple had wanted to make a statement but were not facilitated as they could not speak English or French. Mr Valayden said they wanted to report “something they had seen”. Chief Insp Gerard said he had no knowledge of it. “None of my officers told me of this,” he said.

Mr Valayden then named two medics who attended to Ms McAreavey after she was found and two shop assistants who had been working close by. The officer said he had not heard the names before and did not know if statements had been taken from them. He conceded that a security guard working at the front gates of the hotel was also not asked to provide records of all people leaving and entering the hotel on the day.

Mr Valayden told the court that there were five cameras in and around the crime scene. He asked did police review the 60 hours’ worth of footage from noon to midnight from all cameras. Chief Insp Gerard said he did not do it personally but two officers were given the task. But when asked if the movements of certain suspects, including Mr Moneea, were retraced on camera, the officer said no. “Did you do it for John McAreavey,” the lawyer added. “Yes, they have done it for him,” the policeman replied.

The prosecution claims the defendants, Mr Moneea (42) and Avinash Treebhoowoon (30), strangled the 27-year-old teacher when she caught them stealing from her room, having left her husband at the pool to collect biscuits. Both men deny the charges.

Earlier yesterday, Chief Insp Gerard rejected a claim that he denied Mr Treebhoowoon his constitutional rights by interrogating him without a lawyer present.

Mr Treebhoowoon confessed to the murder but then claimed the admission was beaten out of him. His lawyer, Sanjeev Teeluckdharry, accused police of combiningvarious previous statements to produce an “enhanced statement” that Mr Treebhoowoon was coerced into signing.

After the confession statement was signed on January 13th, Mr Treebhoowoon met his father in the police station and was recorded as saying: “Forget about your son now. I have made a mistake.” Yesterday Mr Teeluckdharry insisted his client said, “Don’t forget about your son,” and the mistake he was referring to was a decision to move out of the family home weeks earlier after an argument.