Man who raped and murdered Irish backpacker jailed for life

A man who raped and murdered an Irish backpacker in Goa eight years ago has been jailed for life.

A farmer found the body of Danielle McLaughlin on a beach popular with holidaymakers in Goa in March 2017.

The 28-year-old County Donegal woman had been raped and strangled, a post-mortem examination found.

Vikat Bhagat, 31, was found guilty at a court in India on Friday.

Speaking after the guilty verdict last week, Ms McLaughlin's mother and a sister said justice had "finally been achieved".

"There was no other suspect or gang involved in Danielle's death and (Vikat) Bhagat was solely responsible for cruelly ending her beautiful life," her mother Andrea Brannigan and sister Joleen McLaughlin Brannigan said.

"We have endured what has been effectively an eight-year murder trial with many delays and problems, right until the end, all taking place thousands of miles away from Danielle's home."

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