McLaughlin family lawyer rejects claims from man accused of Danielle’s murder

The man accused of raping and murdering Donegal woman Danielle McLaughlin has claimed three friends killed her in front of him despite his trying to save her.
Vikat Bhagat, who is currently in custody awaiting trial, has written a 29-page letter to his sister detailing the events which he claims led up to Danielle’s death in Canacona, India, in March.
The claims are rejected by Danielle’s family.
According to the Herald Goa newspaper, 24 year-old Bhagat says he was in a relationship with Ms McLaughlin but denies he raped or murdered her.
He claims that three of his friends attacked her on March 13, and killed her when she tried to fight back.
Bhagat, arrested 24 hours after the murder, said he did not inform police for fear of blame.
However, a solicitor for Danielle’s family has questioned the claims and argued that the reports are “unhelpful” for the case.
Des Doherty said “We do genuinely find this all highly dubious, spurious and lacking in evidential substance”