THERE was chaos outside the Mauritius Supreme Court as two men accused of strangling the daughter of one of Ireland’s most famed sports managers murder trial.
Michaela McAreavey’s widower, John, also had to battle through unruly crowds.
Accused Avinash Treebhoowoon and Sandip Moneea deny premeditated murder.
Mrs McAreavey, daughter of Tyrone Gaelic football manager Mickey Harte, was found dead in the bathtub of her luxury hotel room on the Indian Ocean island paradise last January – just two weeks after her wedding.
The 27-year-old teacher had momentarily left her new husband beside the pool of the five-star Legends Hotel to fetch some biscuits for a cup of tea.
The case against hotel room attendant Treebhoowoon, 30, and floor supervisor Moneea, 42, is being heard in the Supreme Court building in the capital city, Port Louis.
The trial was set to start once a jury of nine had been selected.
Mrs McAreavey, from Ballygawley, Co Tyrone, was the only daughter of Mr Harte, the GAA boss who has steered his native county to three All Ireland championships.
Mr Harte is not attending the trial.
Judge Mr Justice Prithviraj Fecknah will preside over the trial, which is expected to last two weeks. Thirty witnesses are listed to give evidence.
The Legends Hotel, which has since been renamed the Lux Hotel, is in the fishing village of Grand Gaube, close to Mauritius’ Grand Bay.
Mrs McAreavey taught religious education and the Irish language at St Patrick’s Academy in Dungannon, Co Tyrone.