BBC Newsline Special - Return to Mauritius

My deepest darkest fears and nightmares actually

came into reality here.

A young woman on a honeymoon was brutally murdered.

Surely, you have to feel something about that!

She had so much life to live.

So much love to give.

I wish it had never happened, but it did happen, we do not want

that to be a blot on the reputation of the country.

Those who have taken the life of this young woman will have

somehow to face justice.

It does surprise me that comes back, it does something in people's

hearts, does something to us on the island.

But why wait for six years?

Why?

I cannot get away from the tragedy and the trauma.

I am always attached to Mauritius.

And it hurts.

This CCTV footage shows John McAreavy only minutes

before his world fell apart.

He was looking for his new bride, Michaela.

He needed a spare key to get into their room.

They had chosen Mauritius as their dream honeymoon destination.

But it became the scene of sudden tragedy.

The daughter of the Tyrone Gaelic football manager, Mickey Harte,

has been found dead on honeymoon in Mauritius.

She was a beautiful girl.

Our hearts are broken.

It happened here, at the Legends Hotel,

12 days after their wedding.

My deepest darkest fears and nightmares actually

came into reality here.

At the time, the police said that they believe that thieves

broke into the room, Michaela disturbed them

and they killed her.

She was the only daughter of Tyrone Gaelic football

manager Mickey Harte.

She taught Irish and RE at St Patrick's Academy in Dungannon.

Two hotel workers were charged with her murder.

Michaela's husband John, her brother Mark and John's sister,

Claire, were in Mauritius for the trial, back in 2012.

Jostled on his way into court on the first day.

As Michaela McAreavey's widower made his way...

This is a very distressing time for both of our families.

It was almost entertainment value in Mauritius.

And it was this kind of whodunnit type thing.

After a trial lasting eight weeks, Sandip Mooneea

and Avinash Treebhoowoon were acquitted of murder.

After the two hotel workers were acquitted in 2012,

a new police investigation was launched here at headquarters

for the Mauritian police in the capital, Port Louis.

They worked for the next four years and they did

uncover some new evidence, but not enough.

The McAreavey family were informed that the investigation had in effect

come to a standstill.

They had a big decision to make, give up or do something.

What they decided to do was come to Mauritius themselves.

A lot of people will know now that I am married again, to Tara.

And I suppose, I suspect, that some people would think, OK,

you know, he has experienced great tragedy, he is married again

now, you move forward with happy life, you know.

It is not like that.

Yes, I am very happy now.

Tara is just such a wonderful person and amazes me, really, because,

she supports me so much in this.

Anyone that loves you and loves you the right way will know that,

they will support you in anything that is important in your life.

And it was important to John McAreavey to make this journey.

He returned to Mauritius.

Along with his sister Clare who is a lawyer and Mark Harte,

Michaela's eldest brother.

It is not easy.

Even though we have not been here for nearly five years,

mentally, I have still very much been here.

I cannot get away from the experience, the tragedy

and dealing with the trauma.

So, I am always attached to Mauritius and it hurts.

I just hope that people will actually look at us now

and realise, you know, these people have not gone away.

There is a rawness, there is a grief that is still very

prevalent in all of us.

I have been in Mauritius three times now and each

of the times I had a job to do.

The first time was really about getting Michaela and John home.

The second time was the attempt to get justice for Michaela's

murder and the third time was because we felt we left that

behind us a second time.

Mauritius, unfortunately is not a place that holds

for us happy memories or any positive associations.

It has been difficult.

I think we are arriving here with a very strong sense

of purpose and resolve and we are very focused

on what it is we want to achieve and essentially, that is justice

for Michaela and we feel there is so much more to do,

so much more that can be done and we are really here

to bring that about.

Ultimately, what we want, we cannot have, we cannot

bring Michaela back, but we can get the next best thing

and in our eyes, that is justice.

In the six years since Michaela McAreavey was killed here,

the Harte and McAreavey families have spoken very little

about it, they have tried to deal with it privately.

Now, they have changed tack.

Coming here to Mauritius more than 6000 miles away

is a very public gesture.

In spite of their private nature, they are now trying

to grab attention here.

Mauritius is a holiday island.

Heavily reliant on the tourist industry.

So what impact did the murder of Michaela McAreavey have here?

I wish it had never happened, but it did happen and there

was a police enquiry, but it did create some problem

for us in terms of perception of Mauritius as a destination

for safety and for the security of tourists.

But it was an isolated case.

It was not something generalised.

Do you think the killers of Michaela McAreavey

will ever be caught?

We have since passed legislation to ensure,

that should there be any new evidence, any fresh evidence,

it will be possible for a new trial to take place and I wish them

all the best, if they can come up with any kind of new evidence,

we as a government, we will take this very seriously,

because we do not want that to be a blot on the reputation

of the country.

The verdict itself, I have to say, was a disappointment to us,

because we felt that we had sufficient evidence which would

satisfy reasonable prospects of securing conviction.

But then we accept the decision of the jury.

This is part of our criminal justice system, but we have not given up,

because we want to find out who the culprits are.

Those who have taken the life of this young woman will have

somehow to face justice.

Before beginning five days of meetings with the police,

politicians and the press, there were was somewhere John,

Claire and Mark wanted to go first.

Long time, no see.

How are you?

Hard memories, yes.

Nice to see you again, Father.

Nice to see you again.

Claire, we meet again, after so long.

Mark, how are you?

John.

How are you?

Are you keeping well?

You have a lot of memories in the house here, no?

Yeah, indeed.

Hidden deep in the Mauritian countryside, this was where John,

Claire and Mark stayed during the trial.

From you?

More than 30 miles from the noise and bustle of Port Louis,

it's a training college for catholic priests.

We were able to make some calls from that room, yes.

Your office is there, and is that far room

still the living room?

Whatever went on during the day, during the trial, that's

where we kind of I suppose let our guard down as

a family and we were able to express our emotions.

At the time, we were very isolated.

Whilst there's lovely views here, you did feel very trapped in a way.

Oh, my goodness.

You have upgraded the TV, Father!

And the mosquitoes.

You tried so many things for us, spray...

We came here because of our main concern before coming out was just

come somewhere where we had privacy, somewhere where we could sort of be

together in our own thoughts without any intrusion.

This was where we had our darkest thoughts, this was where we flipped

the gate really with a padlock at 5:30pm after a long

day of legal battles.

This is where we analysed what had been discussed.

This is where we prepared for what was coming the next day.

I think it served its purpose, but it's definitely

challenging being back here.

For me this has been very difficult today.

Mauritius has changed since they were last here.

It now has a new government and one of the high-profile figures

during the murder trial is now a member of Parliament.

Back in 2012, Ravi Rutnah was a defence lawyer for one

of the hotel workers accused of murder, Avinash Treebhoowoon.

I hope one day this case can be closed.

I really hope that police will find the real killer.

What do you think about John McAreavey coming here to the island?

Why wait for six years?

Why?

He says he was giving the police a chance to do the job.

Six years?

Who is he to give the Mauritian police a chance?

Who is he?

You know, I have been given to understand that John McAreavey

has attempted to meet the Prime Minister of Mauritius.

I anticipate that the Prime Minister is not meeting him,

and should not meet him.

Because...

Why on earth?

Why?

You met on the last occasion, you met the Prime Minister of this

country, you met the Commissioner of police in this country,

you met a number of officers.

You were treated like the blue-eyed boy of Mauritius.

But Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth ignored the advice.

He did meet John.

We will be back in Mauritius very regularly from this point.

If we have to be back next week, we will be back.

If we have to be back next month, next year, we will be here as long

as it takes to ensure this case is resolved.

We need people's support and the people of Mauritius

want this resolved.

They don't want to see cameras following people about in Mauritius,

tarnishing this good country, so we will be back

as long as it takes.

If I'm still standing here in 20 years, so be it.

The lawyer is equally determined to get justice.

Our Mauritian police, they are very good normally.

I say normally because in more than 90% of murder cases,

they are resolved, and it is very sad our police cannot solve

this high-profile case, and it is a great disappointment not

only for the police but also for the country.

So, why is this murder still unsolved?

Although he wasn't involved in the case, this forensics

expert has his own theory.

Like everybody else in this country, I woke up one morning to hear

that she had been killed and I remember my first reaction

was, I just hope the police, forensic guys and the doctors

do not get scared.

One of the great tragedies in this country, when something happens

on hotel premises...

Police does not have a free hand.

Management is after the police to hurry up and hurry up,

and even botch up the case because the other residents

of the hotel are being disturbed.

We asked the police about how they handle such investigations,

but they said they didn't want to comment.

We showed the interview to the Mauritian tourism minister

to see what he thought.

One of the great tragedies in this country, when something

happens on hotel premises, police does not have a free hand.

Management is after the police to hurry up and hurry up...

What do you think of that?

I do not share that view.

The system we have in Mauritius is that whenever something big

like this happens in a hotel, there is a duty on the part

of the management of the hotel to call the police,

and the police take over.

And the police do whatever they have to do for the investigation.

It takes the time that it takes, but I do not think there is any fear

on the part of the police whenever they have to go to any hotel.

I do not share that view at all.

The Legends hotel was renamed Lux after the murder.

We went there to try and get an interview.

While we were filming, the outside of the hotel

from beyond the perimeter, a manager came out and told

us to stop filming.

In fact he told us twice.

He said no one was available for an interview at the moment

but he asked us to put in a written request for an interview and I'm

going to do that now.

Could you give that to the manager, please?

Thank you very much indeed.

We got an e-mail confirming they didn't want to do an interview.

We later asked in person, but again we were turned down.

John's return was the focus of intense media interest.

Now, he was about to face the island's press.

We are going to put a reward forward for information and we are hoping

maybe someone will be able to come forward and maybe give us a little

bit more information, maybe something that can lead

to evidence to bring us back on the road to justice.

I'm enthused today since we have been over.

The meetings have been good and I'm getting to understand

what people have been doing, but ultimately this is what we came

for, and that is the direct appeal to Mauritian public so it's very

important we communicate our messages well today

because we are very reliant on the people of Mauritius.

So hopefully we do that, and hopefully the appeal can

get us what we need.

Did you get a good sleep?

I did get a good sleep.

I did get a good sleep after three hours the previous night.

I'm ready to go, steely determination.

That's me.

They will probably be surprised to see him because we gathered

that he has started a new life, got a new wife, so that he

would move on and forget about this tragedy.

And to see that his quest for the truth is still there,

and I think people will be very supportive of that.

It does surprise me that he comes back after so many years

to still find who killed his first wife, so you kind of, yes,

it does something in people's hearts, you know.

It does something to us on the island.

This is about Michaela.

She had so much life to live, so much love to give.

The pain of losing such a loved person is something

which we as families will have to bear for the rest of our days.

All of our hopes, dreams and ambitions taken away in one

brutal and senseless act.

The reality is that there are killers walking around

in your communities, in your villages and in your towns.

Killers of a young woman.

Are your families safe?

This could be your wife, your daughter, your sister.

As a symbol of our determination, we are offering a reward

As a symbol of our determination, we are offering a reward

of 2 million rupees.

That's around approximately 50,000 euros.

Please be brave, please come forward with the truth,

no matter how small or how irrelevant you think it is,

it will be of help.

Justice is the number one priority here and we will always be

here to ensure is delivered.

It is not very common in Mauritius to have this kind of offer

or reward for evidence.

I...I'm not very sure it is going to work.

If I come forward as a witness after having been offered a reward,

is that going to affect the quality of the evidence that I give?

I'm just afraid that if somebody comes forward, the defence lawyers

will try to damage that witness, so that is a risk.

After all the media attention, the head of the Mauritian

police force invited John, Claire and Mark for

a private meeting.

Mr McAreavey and his relatives have just met the commissioner of police

and they have been reassured that there is an inquiry still going

on, and we are going to exchange information and hopefully

we will get something in the future.

After five days in Mauritius, it was time to leave

the island and go home.

Then there was a last-minute change of plan.

They decided to go to the one place they had always insisted

they didn't want to go.

The hotel where Michaela was murdered.

I'm John's sister, Claire.

We spoke on the telephone, I've never been here before.

They wanted to make sure the appeal for new information was heard,

face-to-face in the hotel.

It was supposed to be a brief meeting, but it

lasted well over an hour.

I hadn't been to the hotel before.

That was hard.

You know, I'd seen lots of pictures of the hotel, I had read

lots of evidence about the hotel.

Actually being there was...

that was hard.

You want to protect your family members, and it's a different thing

altogether when you have to walk into the ground where

Michaela was murdered.

This is where Michaela was killed and we believe there's still people

employed at the hotel that have information.

They are going to be convening the staff together in the next

couple of days and appealing to them that if they have in the information

about what happened, that they come forward.

I think every other meeting which we've attended

since we've been over here, it is more effective when you can be

face-to-face with people.

We have been through worse.

When you are at rock bottom, there's only one way

you can look so, as I say, this comes down to Michaela.

This isn't about me, Mark or Claire, our families.

This is about getting justice for Michaela.

It was always going to be an emotionally draining five

days for the families, and so it proved, but they gained

greater access to the Mauritian authorities than they expected,

and they managed to get their message out to the local media

right around the island.

They did everything they could do.

For them now, it's just a waiting game.

A waiting game for both the Hart and McAreavey families to find out

whether this return to Mauritius will make any difference.

The journey out here, the time we have spent has had a purpose.

I think we have ruffled enough feathers to let

people know we are serious about what we are about.

We have no intention of going away.

We need justice for our families, we need justice for Michaela.

Not having justice, not being able to know the people that killed

Michaela have been held accountable is a very hard thing to bear.

We will come back, we will be back.

You know, we have lived with this every single day

since Michaela died.

I guess if someone else was in my position, I can only

imagine they would try to achieve what I try to achieve and what our

families try to achieve.

And yes, it is very difficult but ultimately I think

I owe it to Michaela.

Unless you are ready,

100% prepared,

it is a brutal business.

The champion of the world!

We're winners. We'll work very hard together.

I said to Christine, I might get hit a bit in this fight.