When will they ever learn? Another newlywed from British Isles is murdered in black island paradise

(Correction, Jan. 14: the population of Mauritius is not mainly black, which I wrote based on a misreading of Wikipedia, but Indian. Indians are 68 percent of the population, and Creole (African) are 27 percent. See Ken H.’s comment below and my reply. Also, three suspects who have been arrested are Indian. However, the fact that the suspects in this case are Indian doesn’t change the conclusion, established by the pattern of murders of white tourists in black countries, that Westerners visiting a country with a significant black population must practice exceptional precautions.)

The murder took place on Mauritius, an island nation of 1.2 million people off the east coast of southern Africa, with a mainly African (Creole) population. The Mail’s January 11 story is mostly about the family of the murdered woman, rather than about the facts of the murder and the investigation. Note that it was a four-star hotel they were staying in. Below the Mail article, see what a VFR commenter has said about the security at four-star hotels in black countries.

New bride, 27, murdered in Mauritius luxury hotel ‘fought strangler for her life’

The newlywed bride murdered on her honeymoon in Mauritius fought for her life, it emerged today.

Michaela Harte, a 27-year-old teacher, was found dead by her husband in their hotel room at the four-star Legends Hotel.

As police on the paradise isle questioned six suspects about the death, police revealed how she tried to save herself from the intruder.

A post-mortem revealed today she had been strangled and a magnetic key had been used to gain access to her room.

Harte, the only daughter of County Tyrone Gaelic Games football manager Mickey, married John McAreavey, a footballer for County Down, on December 30.

John McAreavey and wife Michaela Harte are seen on their wedding day at St. Malacheys Church Ballymacilrory on December 30, less than two weeks before he found her dead in their hotel room 2010

John McAreavey and wife Michaela Harte are seen on their wedding day at St. Malacheys Church Ballymacilrory on December 30, less than two weeks before he found her dead in their hotel room 2010

Superintendent Yoosoof Soopun, from the Mauritius Police Force, said: ‘We are confident of a positive result today.’

He said Mr McAreavey was in the restaurant of the hotel when his wife was murdered, and police have ruled him out as a suspect.

‘She had gone back to the room to get some biscuits to put in her tea and, when she failed to return, her husband went to look for her,’ he said.

‘When he found her in the room, she had been killed. He tried to help her but she was already dead.’

Mr Harte has been left heartbroken by the death of the daughter he worshiped.

‘She was my little jewel,’ he told friends.

Harte, three times an all-Ireland winning manager, left the newlyweds at Dublin Airport the day after the marriage ceremony, close to the family home near Ballygawley, Co. Tyrone.

Mrs McAreavey taught Irish at St Patrick’s girls academy in Dungannon.

She was a former Rose of Tralee contestant, a huge Tyrone GAA fan and her father’s number one cheerleader.

Friends of the team manager and his wife Marian said the couple were devoted to their only daughter, who married on December 30 at St Malachy’s Church, Ballymacilroy.

Father Brian Hackett, the family priest, said: ‘Her big thing was her daddy being the manager of Tyrone. She went everywhere with him. She was a religious girl. She was a dedicated Tyrone supporter.’

Journalist Adrian Logan, a family friend, said: ‘Mickey adored her. He was totally devoted.

Mr Logan added: ‘He refused to do any post-match interviews after those games until she stood beside him. That’s how much she meant to him. She was his number one fan.’

A joint statement by Mr Harte and Catholic Bishop of Dromore John McAreavey said: ‘We wish to confirm that we have received confirmation this afternoon that Michaela, married on December 30 2010 to John McAreavey, was killed today in Mauritius where the couple were on honeymoon.

‘We ask for prayers for Michaela, John and their families and loved ones.

‘Both families are deeply shocked and devastated by this tragic news and they ask for privacy and space at this time of profound grief.’

[end of Mail article]

As soon as I saw that the hotel where the murder took place was a four-star hotel, I was reminded of a VFR discussion in July 2008 about a honeymooning British couple on the black Caribbean island of Antigua who were attacked in their hotel cabin, the woman murdered, the husband near-murdered. In that thread, Mark Jaws and Karen from England had a lively exchange on how and whether white people can provide for their security in black countries.

Here is the culminating part of the thread:

LA continues:

Both Mark and Karen say you should not go to a black country unless you’ve provided for security. The only difference between them is that Karen speaks of getting security from the people in that country, while Mark says you must bring your own.

Karen replies:

I didn’t mean a contradiction when I talked about security in black countries. What I mean by secure is the 5 star hotels run by large companies, e.g. Sheraton, Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton. These hotels provide buildings which are robust and secured by perimeter fences (usually electric), properly lit and they are gated. People can’t just walk in. It is difficult to get in and difficult to get out in a hurry. Criminals (police or otherwise) don’t bother to cause trouble in these places, as it is too much hassle for them. They always go for the weaker, isolated places where there is lax security, poorly paid guards (often hired at random) who can be bribed, no gates or fences and hence easy access and getaway. It is always the 3 and 4 star hotels, like this one which get the crime. This 3 star hotel, comprised of wooden huts on an open hilltop, with no fencing, was a sitting target for crime and it is just surprising that it didn’t happen more often. Anyone could walk in and out of there.

Security in black countries doesn’t mean carrying a weapon, it means spending money and you only get what you pay for. In Africa we used to have off duty police offices to guard us—pay the right price and they make sure you have no problems. Cheat them and you get done. People who want to go to black countries need to be prepared to pay the cost of the security and if they don’t want to, they shouldn’t go. In a black country, never stay in anything less than a 5 star hotel. Renting a wooden cabin in an open hilltop with no fencing, no gates, no proper lighting, no armed guards is utter madness. This couple might as well have camped in a field. They wouldn’t do that in the UK so why did they do it in Antigua?

LA replies:

Ok, there’s the explanation. Security is possible in these black-run countries, in hotels that are not run by the people of that country, but by international corporations which have facilities, standards, and procedures that are entirely different from and independent of the usual way of doing things in that country. Alternatively, security is possible by paying sufficient money for your own armed guards.

I repeat what Karen said: “In a black country, never stay in anything less than a 5 star hotel.” If Michaela Harte and her husband had read VFR and heeded Karen’s advice, Mrs. Harte would very likely be alive today, and her family would not be suffering an anguish that they will likely carry with them for the rest of their lives.

An objection to my point about a five-star hotel is that the killer was probably a hotel employee, since the killer entered the Harte’s room with a magnetic key. Of course, there is no absolute security against being murdered anywhere, even in a palace. It would still be the case, however, that five-star hotels probably screen prospective employees more carefully than four-star hotels, making an inside murder less likely.

(For more information on whites getting killed in black neighborhoods, cities, and countries, see Black and other nonwhite violence against whites: a grim collection.)

Ken H. (not Hechtman) writes:

Mauritius is 68% Indian; it’s not “mainly African.”

From Wikipedia:

Ethnic groups: Indian 68%, Creole 27%, Chinese 3%, French 2%.

The reported murder rate is lower than America’s—last available statistics: 2.56 in 2005, 4.0 in 2006 (per 100,000).

And the accused killers are Indian, not African. (Belfast Telegraph).

LA replies:

You are right. I misread the first sentence in the “Ancestry” section at the beginning of the Wiki article,

“The Indo-Mauritians (when the ethnic groups are combined) and Creoles (of African descent) are the predominant population,”

as saying that the population is mainly from the African continent, whereas what the sentence is saying is that Indians plus Africans make the predominant population, an odd way of putting it. What I saw, reading too rapidly, was the second half of the sentence, with the phrase,

“Creoles (of African descent) are the predominant population.”

Also, I didn’t see the link to the CIA World Factbook demographic figures near the bottom of the article where you got the ethnic breakdown of the population.

Lydia McGrew writes:

Another precaution that may not have been available to the victim in Mauritius but that is available in all American hotels I’ve stayed in: Lock the door behind you every time you are in the room with the extra, inside bolt, so that even someone with a magnetic key cannot open the door unless you have unbolted it. Arrange with your family a code knock for which you will open.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at January 13, 2011 08:58 AM | Send