28-year old raped and murdered in Goa
The body of a 28-year old Irish woman was found on a beach in Devabag village in Canacona, South-Goa. A post-mortem would confirm if she was sexually assaulted. Police arrested a local youth who was last seen with her, and has reportedly confessed to the crime. The youth, identified as Vikas Bhagat was known to the victim and has a record of serious crimes.
Who is the victim?
The victim was identified as 28-year old British-Irish woman, Danielle McLaughlin, who was on a backpacking trip across the world. She had allegedly come to Goa with a friend to celebrate Holi in Canacona. She had come to Goa last year as well when she stayed in Canacona for 2 months. She reportedly befriended her attacker during that trip.
What happened?
Based on confessions by the perpetrator, police pieced together the sequence of events that led to the crime. The perpetrator allegedly spent the day with the victim on 13 March, and asked her to have sex with him that night. When she refused, he hit her on the head with a beer bottle, and assaulted her, before fleeing.
Tried to disfigure her
Bhagat said he attempted to disfigure her face and then fled with her clothes and belongings, in an attempt to make it difficult for authorities to identify her.
