A newlywed's frantic bid to revive the body of his lifeless bride was outlined in harrowing detail as prosecutors opened the case against the men accused of her murder.
John McAreavey desperately tried to help his lifeless wife Michaela after finding her lying senseless in the bathtub of their honeymoon suite at a Mauritius luxury hotel, the Supreme Court in Port Louis heard today.
Jurors were told how, that morning in January last year, the couple were happy.
They were having breakfast together before John went for a golf lesson and Michaela decided to go for a dip in the pool at the Legends Hotel.
Chief prosecutor Mehdi Manrakhan said they then met up for something to eat at the restaurant beside the pool.
He said: 'After having had their lunch Michaela ordered tea and went to her room to fetch her biscuits which she was fond of having with her tea.
'John stayed behind at the restaurant and waited and waited for her to come back. Members of the jury, Michaela would never return to John. This was the last time that John saw his beautiful wife Michaela alive.'
Concerned as to what had happened to his wife, Mr Manrakhan said Mr McAreavey settled the lunch bill and went back to their room - 1025.
'Reaching room 1025, since John did not have his magnetic key card with him, he had to knock on the door.
'Seeing that there was no answer he decided to go to the hotel reception to ask for help. A bell boy accompanied him back to room 1025 to allow him to enter the room.
'Members of the jury, as soon as John entered room 1025 his worst nightmare began. In the bathroom John saw Michaela lying senseless in the bathtub.
'John removed Michaela from the bathtub, laid her on the floor and went to cry for help. The bell boy who had accompanied John was still in the vicinity of room 1025.
'They both went back to room 1025 where John tried to revive Michaela. Members of the jury, it was too late. Michaela was already dead.'
The court heard earlier today how Michaela had cried out in anguish when she was strangled on her honeymoon.
Mr Manrakhan said a witness heard a scuffle taking place in room 1025 at the Legends Hotel, saying: 'He heard a female voice crying and then 'Agh, agh, agh' as if she was in pain.'
He claimed the witness - Raj Theekoy - then saw the two men accused of the murder leave the room.
Mr Manrakhan added: 'This was a dream honeymoon for John and Michaela, which turned into a nightmare.'
Defendants Avinash Treebhoowoon and Sandip Moneea deny the charge of premeditated murder.
Mr Manrakhan said medical examinations showed Mrs McAreavey died from asphyxiation due to compression of the neck.
He said: 'Medical evidence is such that there can be no doubt that Michaela had been brutally killed.'
Today is the second day of the trial. Yesterday, Mrs McAreavey's widow came face to face with the men accused of her murder in court.
John McAreavey, who married Michaela Harte just twelve days before she was found dead, is a witness in the the trial.
There was chaos at the court yesterday as hundreds of members of the public fought for a seat at the most sensational trial the Indian Ocean paradise island has ever witnessed.
Mr McAreavey, 28, a player with Gaelic football club Down GAA, briefly stared at the accused as he took his place with the rest of the witnesses for the prosecution.
The trial is expected to last two weeks after both the accused - workers at the hotel where Ms Harte, 27, was found strangled in a bathtub - pleaded not guilty to her murder.
When asked how he pleaded, floor supervisor Moneea, 41, rose to his feet, held his hand in the air and declared to the judge: ‘My lord, I swear I did not kill her.’
The day’s drama began at 8.20am when police vehicles, sirens blaring, brought Treebhowon and Moneea into a side entrance of the Supreme Court in downtown Port Louis.
The front gates of the complex, locked the previous day, were opened at 8.30am in advance of a trial set to mesmerise Mauritius and Ireland.
Complete chaos ensued when crowds swelled and started to congregate at the bottom of the steps leading to the courtroom at 8.45am. A tense atmosphere had been building from the early morning.
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