THE family of murdered bride Michaela McAreavey have been dealt a blow after the case against the only remaining suspect was thrown out. Ex-security guard Dassen Narayanen had been pulled in by police in Mauritius two years ago over the unsolved killing of the Co Tyrone woman in January 2011. But yesterday, as a judge slammed cops on the Indian Ocean nation, the 39-year-old was told for the second time that he was in the clear.
And the decision may mark the end of any hope for justice for slain Michaela . She was on honeymoon with former Down GAA star John McAreavey at the island’s luxury Legends Hotel when she disturbed a burglary in her room. The 27-year-old teacher was strangled to death and her body, callously left in a bathtub, was discovered by her husband.
Mr Narayanen, of Royal Road, Plaine des Papayes, had been under suspicion of conspiring to obtain a master key to open the suite as part of the burglary that went so badly wrong. But during a court hearing in 2013 he was cleared of any involvement. When the case was reopened in March 2022 the local man was rearrested on a “provisional charge” of the same crime.
DNA on a card and on a towel in crime scene room No 1025 played a part in the decision to bring him back in for questioning. However, police have been unable to clarify details around their securing of those DNA results and no new evidence has been formally put to the suspect. Magistrate Rishi Hardowar said: “Fairness would also require the present pro.