A man has been found guilty of the rape and murder of Irish woman Danielle McLaughlin eight years ago.
Vikat Bhagat (31) was found guilty at the District and Sessions Court in Goa, India, today.
In March 2017, Danielle’s body was found by a farmer in a field in a remote location in Goa, a part of India popular with tourists.
The 28-year-old from Buncrana, Co Donegal, who had been backpacking in the area, had been raped and murdered.
The suspect, who Danielle knew — local man Vikat Bhagat — was arrested soon afterwards.
He was charged with sexual assault and murder, which he denied.
The criminal proceedings against him had been beset by constant delays over almost eight years.
Speaking to the Sunday Independent last month Andrea Brannigan, Danielle’s mother, said that the constant delays and uncertainty left the family “devastated and in limbo”.
She had also called on Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris to directly intervene in the case with the Indian authorities.
“I am beginning to lose all hope that this trial will ever come to an end,” Ms Brannigan told the Sunday Independent.
“It is beyond a joke… Danielle’s birthday is on Tuesday, February 4, she would be 36. We expected to be in India for her birthday and the verdict. But again, we are hit with another delay. It is getting unbelievably difficult. We cannot grieve properly for Danielle until this trial is over.”