Danielle McLaughlin’s family make request to have inquest held into her murder

By Cate McCurry, PA

The Attorney General has received a request to hold an inquest into the murder of Irish backpacker Danielle McLaughlin.

Local man Vikat Bhagat, 31, was found guilty at the District and Sessions Court in India last month.

Ms McLaughlin, from Buncrana in Co Donegal, was found dead in a secluded spot in Canacona, an area of Goa popular with holidaymakers, in March 2017.

The 28-year-old had been celebrating Holi, a Hindu spring festival, at a nearby village.

Ms McLaughlin’s body was found the next day by a farmer in a field in a remote location.

A post-mortem examination showed the former Liverpool John Moores University student suffered cerebral damage and constriction of the neck, causing her death.

Weeks after the verdict in India, Ms McLaughlin’s family solicitor Des Doherty applied to Attorney General Rossa Fanning to direct an inquest into her murder and rape, under Section 24(1) of the Coroners Act 1962.

The family told the Irish Times podcast that they have a lot of unanswered questions about Ms McLaughlin’s death.

The family do not have a death certificate for Ms McLaughlin and do not know which of the horrific injuries she suffered killed her.

Ms McLaughlin’s family believe that the Attorney General can direct an inquest to be carried out based in the interest of justice and in the public interest.

The office of the Attorney General has been contacted for comment.