THE SACKED security guard whose DNA may have been located in the hotel bathroom in Mauritius where Irishwoman Michaela Harte was found murdered in January, has claimed it could only have got there when he went to fetch a towel.
Dassen Narayanen (26), a former employee at Legends Hotel where Ms Harte was honeymooning with her husband John McAreavey, has been accused of conspiring to commit theft at the exclusive establishment in the fishing village of Grand Gaube on January 10th, the day of her murder.
Last week, a leaked forensic report on the crime scene, which, among other things, was based on swabs taken from a wardrobe handle in the couple’s bathroom, revealed that while no DNA from the two men accused of Ms Harte’s murder was found at the crime scene, the possible presence of Mr Narayanen’s DNA could not be discounted.
Mr Narayanen was initially taken into custody on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder, but now faces the lesser charge of conspiring to commit theft.
According to the report’s author, DNA “from at least three contributors has been obtained”.
“The majority of components detected are unconfirmed,” the report said, “including an indication that at least one of the contributors is male. Ms Harte, James McAreavey and Dassen Narayanen cannot be excluded as possible contributors”.
There was “no specific indication” the DNA of the two men accused of her murder, former room attendant Avinash Treebhoowoon (30) and supervisor Sandip Mooneea (41), was found at the crime scene.
The body of the 27-year-old teacher, the daughter of Tyrone GAA football manager Mickey Harte, was found in her hotel bathroom by her husband shortly after she went to get biscuits to have with a cup of tea.
To date it has been unclear why Mr Narayanen would have been in the bathroom attached to room 1025, where the couple were staying, because Ms Harte’s body had already been moved into the main bedroom when he said he arrived on the scene.
Speaking to the media outside Mapou district court after appearing briefly before magistrate Sheila Bonomally yesterday, Mr Narayanen went through his recollection of the events following his arrival at the scene.
He said he initially entered room 1025 because he heard a man calling for help.
When he arrived, he saw a woman lying on the floor and a distraught Mr McAreavey beside her, he said.
He went on to say that bellboy Rajiv Bhujun, who was second on the scene, had left the room when Mr McAreavey sought his assistance, so Mr Narayanen himself went into the bathroom to get a wet towel because he thought Ms Harte had fainted. He said he took one that was hanging on a cylindrical railing.
When asked how his DNA might have got on to the handle of the wardrobe, Mr Narayanen said he had rested against it when reaching for the towel.
When asked why he had rested against the handle, he replied: “I just did the whole thing in a quick manner. The moment I entered the room I was doing things quickly, not thoughtfully. I just went in and grabbed the towel. That’s all I did.”
Questions had also arisen as to why Mr Narayanen had worked at the front gate of the hotel in the morning but later had been working in the area of the murder.
He told reporters his supervisor had moved him there after he requested a change of station.
Although Mr Narayanen has been charged in connection with Ms Harte’s death, his name has not been included on the list of witnesses for the preliminary inquiry.