Legal formalities on the handing over of the remains of Donegal woman Danielle McLaughlin by Indian authorities are being finalised, police say.
The body of Ms McLaughlin (28), from Buncrana, was found severely beaten in a field between the popular Palolem and Agonda beaches in the south of the state of Goa on Tuesday of last week.
Insp Filomeno Costa said her body was in the process of being handed over to a group of her friends and Irish officials.
She would be flown home to Ireland later in the week, he said.
:fill(white):background_color(white)/static.themebuilder.aws.arc.pub/irishtimes/1647534191476.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/E2VPEV62DMMZHMJVTAIWNKVJMI.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/FXRDJI7JHXLJ7IYSSEC3AVYQSQ.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/4QSONXIODGLCVP5546JRZY4CQI.jpg)
Ms McLaughlin’s naked body was discovered by a farmer in Canacona, following which police registered a case of murder.
A postmortem examination later showed she had been sexually assaulted before being killed by blows to the head.
A 24-year-old man has confessed to the crime. Police identified him as Vikas Bhagat.
Local media reports said Ms McLaughlin was last seen a day before her body was found, dancing at a party on the beach along with Mr Bhagat and several others as they celebrated Holi, the Hindu spring festival of colours.
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/irishtimes/39240679-825c-44ab-a5d8-f3ea82c6c760.png)