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Michaela's husband John and father Mickey Harte at her funeral on 17 January Photocall Ireland
Michaela

Michaela McAreavey's widower may be called to face the men accused of her murder

A lawyer for one of the murder accused says John McAreavey is his “star witness” and says he will refuse to go ahead with the trial if he is not on the witness list.

THE HUSBAND OF murdered bride Michaela McAreavey could have to return to Mauritius to come face to face with the men accused of her murder.

The Irish Daily Mail reports that a lawyer for one of the men accused of Michaela’s death may summon John McAreavey to stand as a witness.

She was killed in her room in the four star Legends hotel on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius on 10 January, just 11 days after her wedding. Her husband found her strangled in the room after she had gone to retrieve something.

Two men, 29-year-old Abinash Treebhoowoon and 41-year-old Sandip Monea have been charged with Michaela’s murder, and Ravi Rutnah, Treebhoowoon’s lawyer says he will insists that John McAreavey travels back to the island to give evidence.

The prosecution has drawn up a list of witnesses and Rutnah says that if Mr. McAreavey’s name isn’t on it, he will demand an adjournment. Rutnah as reffered to John McAreavey as the “star witness” and says that he must be present in court. The lawyer says that his client was coerced into confessing to killing Michaela.

The prosecution is expected to allege that she was killed during a struggle after she startled two men who were stealing from her hotel room. The preliminary trial will get underway on 21 June.

Read more on this story in today’s Irish Daily Mail>