Goa man found guilty of rape and murder of Irish backpacker eight years ago

The family of a young Irish woman raped and murdered in India eight years ago have said justice has finally been achieved after a man was convicted in Goa. Danielle McLaughlin, from Buncrana in County Donegal, was found dead in a field in Canacona, an area of Goa popular with holidaymakers, in March 2017. The 28-year-old backpacker had travelled to Goa with a female Australian friend, and the pair were staying in a beach hut before the attack happened. They had been celebrating Holi – a Hindu spring festival – at a nearby village. Vikat Bhagat, then 24, a local man who knew McLaughlin, was found guilty on Friday of her rape and murder at the district and sessions court in south Goa, her family’s solicitor said. He will be sentenced on Monday. After the verdict, McLaughlin’s mother and sister said they had endured eight years of torment trying to bring the perpetrator to justice, which had “finally been achieved”. McLaughlin had previously spent time in India as a volunteer in an orphanage and had come back planning to learn to teach yoga while travelling. Bhagat was arrested within hours of McLaughlin’s body being discovered. The body of the former Liverpool John Moores University student was returned to Ireland after her death, with a postmortem examination finding brain damage and strangulation as the cause of death. Her mother, Andrea Brannigan, and sister, Joleen McLaughlin, said in a statement issued by the family’s solicitor Desmond Doherty: “There was no other suspect or gang involved in Danielle’s death and Bhagat was solely responsible for cruelly ending her beautiful life. “We have endured what has been effectively an eight-year murder trial with many delays and problems, right until the end, all taking place thousands of miles away from Danielle’s home.” Her family said the trial had been very tiring but that they were glad it was over. Last year, the family’s representatives told how the case had been brought to court on more than 250 occasions with hearings sometimes lasting only half an hour on any given day. On more than one occasion they have been adjourned due to the unavailability of the suspect. Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Harris, paid tribute to the family, praising Brannigan’s “determination and resilience in the face of unimaginable tragedy”. Thanking lawyers in both countries, the family said that the quest for truth and justice had been “no easy matter”, but they were content that there had been “judicial confirmation in public of what we already sadly knew”. The family said: “We now hope not only that Danielle can rest in peace, but that we as a family can have some peace and comfort knowing that the person who brutally raped and murdered our precious Danielle has been convicted.” Harris said: “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.”