Team Herald
MARGAO: After nearly eight years of unwavering determination, justice has finally been served in the case of Danielle McLaughlin, the 28-year-old British-Irish backpacker who was raped and murdered in a forested area in Canacona on March 14, 2017. For years, flowers, candles, and photographs marked the spot where she was found, a testament to a life taken far too soon.
Fast forward to February 17, 2025, when the South Goa District and Sessions Court sentenced Vikat Bhagat, a local man who had initially posed as the victim’s friend, to rigorous life imprisonment for her rape and murder, along with an additional three-year term for destruction of evidence, with all sentences to run concurrently.
“Having taken the victim to a secluded spot in the jungle late at night where there would be no witnesses, the victim was raped and then brutally murdered,” explained Vikram Varma, the lawyer representing McLaughlin's mother, Andrea Brannigan, to O Heraldo.
“In such cases neither can the victim provide direct evidence nor can any eye witness. The task of the police in such cases all over the world is extremely difficult because they have to rely upon circumstantial evidence. Which means that every circumstance related to the crime has to be substantiated with cogent and reliable evidence,”
he added.
Three days before Bhagat was sentenced, the court had convicted Bhagat on Friday, during which time, McLaughlin’s mother Andrea, sister Joylene, and childhood friends were present, alongside members of the British embassy.
They held onto each other's hands, tears rolling down their faces as their eight-year legal battle concluded.
When they stepped out of the court, Joylene, along with her mother and friends, read out the family's emotional statement to the media.
"We had Danielle in our lives for 28 years and we wish we could have seen the woman she would have become but because of Vikat she will forever be 28," she said. "We will never see her smile or hear her laugh and we appreciate all that they have done for our campaign fighting for this outcome."
Their presence in the courtroom was made possible by a GoFundMe campaign initiated by Danielle's best friend. "She was so much more than a daughter, sister and best friend," the family's statement continued. "She lit up every room she entered and touched the lives of all who met her. She brought so much good into this world and he so quickly took her from this world with his cruelty."
Throughout the eight-year campaign, Andrea Brannigan's determination never wavered. The family's solicitor, Des Doherty, while speaking to the BBC, noted that despite the challenging length of the process, Andrea stayed committed to the Indian legal system, working closely with both the British and Irish consulate staff. "I lost my eldest daughter, she was stolen from us, she was stolen from her sisters and friends," Andrea said. "She was also robbed of the opportunity of becoming a mother herself."
McLaughlin had been a gifted student of drama and dance who grew up in Buncrana, County Donegal. She had previously volunteered at an orphanage in India and had returned in February 2017 with hopes of working as a yoga teacher. Her life was tragically cut short just two weeks after her arrival.
The case received support at the highest levels, with Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris acknowledging the verdict and paying tribute to Andrea's "determination and resilience in the face of unimaginable tragedy." The Irish government, in partnership with the UK government, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and diplomatic offices in New Delhi, Mumbai and Dublin, remained actively engaged throughout the case.
"We have lost nearly 8 years of our lives fighting for Danielle and we are so thankful that we now can start grieving her immeasurable loss," the family concluded. "Danielle's truth has finally been heard."
He detailed how the case faced numerous challenges, including witnesses leaving Goa and one turning hostile out of fear. Despite these seemingly impossible odds, the investigating agency managed to bring the witnesses before the trial court for their depositions. "It was a long battle of nearly eight years but justice has been done," Varma said.
Varma praised the exceptional work of the Goa Police, particularly the initial investigations by Police Inspector (PI) Filomena Costa Costa and subsequent work by Deputy Superintendent (DySP) Rajendra Prabhudessai in gathering the required evidence.
He described how the prosecution team had evolved through the years, with Public Prosecutor (PP) V G Costa initially handling the trial before it was taken over by PP Govind Gaonkar, who Varma credited with doing "an excellent job in bringing all the relevant evidence on record”. He also acknowledged the crucial support of PPs S Samant and D Korgaonkar, apart from Director of Prosecution Poonam Bharne.
"Such teamwork, labour and commitment does assist the courts in getting to the truth and delivering justice. To any mother nothing can compensate for the loss of a child, but the verdict and the sentence to my mind has done justice and would have diluted the grief of the family," Varma concluded.