I will never stop seeking justice for Michaela, vows lawyer

Michaela, the only daughter of GAA manager Mickey Harte, was strangled in the bathroom of her hotel suite on the holiday island on January 10, 2011.

She had married John McAreavey days earlier.

Mr McAreavey has led a long campaign for justice. And yesterday, in a direct message to those responsible, he said: “I pray to God that some day they would face up to their responsibilities.”

Mr Sui Wa, meanwhile, told the Belfast Telegraph that the Indian Ocean island’s authorities were looking into re-examining the case.

“I’ve worked on several murder cases but this was the most shocking,” he said.

“It’s also a very sad one because Michaela’s murder remains unsolved. My legal experience, however, tells me I am well aware of who has committed this terrible crime.”

Two local hotel workers were acquitted of Michaela’s murder following a high-profile trial on the island in 2012.

Mr Sui Wa said he spoke to the head of the Mauritius criminal investigation department on Friday, following a conversation with his client John, and he said that he was informed they would “dig further and more thoroughly into the file”.

“We need fresh and strong evidence to bring those responsible to justice, and the standard is higher if you want to start a new case,” the barrister said.

“John McAreavey is being kept up-to-date about everything. We are working as a team.

“It’s my lifetime goal to get justice for Michaela and I know he feels the same”.

He added: “I have been really impressed about how John has handled this over the past 10 years.

“He has never stopped inquiring, never stopped fighting. He has never stopped seeking help from the Irish Government, the Irish Embassy, the Mauritian authorities. Like me, he knows who did this, but the police have to do their job”.

Mr Sui Wa said there is a “sense of shame” among the Mauritian people that such a brutal act could happen— and go unpunished.

Yesterday, in an interview with the BBC, Mr McAreavey said: “To be here in this situation 10 years later, not having the justice delivered for Michaela, is a hugely difficult and frustrating thing.

“I guess for me it probably feels like a failure, and I know that obviously I can’t deliver this (on my own), but it does sort of give me a sense of failure that I haven’t been able to close this chapter out and to deliver the justice that is the very least of which Michaela deserves.”

Mr McAreavey said he feels it is his duty to ensure the case is not forgotten.

“We were newly married — there was a large part of me felt that I was responsible for Michaela and this happened when I was there with her,” he said.

“I know it’s not right to have those feelings and to have any sort of sense of guilt about that, but the reality is that I do.

“I struggle with that at times. I try to manage that in my life.

“But whether I like it or not, that is a driver for me. And it is a driver to ensure that I take this as far as I can.”

Belfast Telegraph