Teenager charged over murder of Scottish woman in Mauritius

Janice Farman had lived in Mauritius for many years

A teenager has appeared in court charged with the murder of a 47-year-old Scottish woman in Mauritius.

Janice Farman, who was originally from the Clydebank area, died in a robbery at her home a week ago.

Anish Soneea, who is 18 and from Quatre Bornes, appeared in court in the island's capital of Port Louis on Friday.

His appearance followed that of two other men, who were charged on Tuesday with murdering Ms Farman.

Ravish Rao Fakhoo and Kamlesh Mansingh, both 25 and from Quatre Bornes, made no plea at the hearing.

Local media in Mauritius have reported that Mr Fakhoo has confessed to his involvement in the killing.

Anish Soneea was detained by police on Thursday

The BBC's World Service correspondent in Mauritius, Yasine Mohabuth, said: "Ravish Rao Fakhoo confessed to the murder, incriminating Kamlesh Mansingh and Anish Soneea."

It is understood Ms Farman's mother has travelled from Scotland to Mauritius.

Police are investigating reports that the suspects were known to Ms Farman and visited her home frequently.

She was killed in the early hours of 7 July in front of her 10-year-old autistic son.

A post-mortem examination indicated that she died as a result of asphyxiation caused by compression of the neck.

The intruders fled with a number of items, including jewellery and her car, a Nissan Tiida, which was later found abandoned by the side of the road.

Local media have reported that the items stolen from Ms Farman's home were recovered from one of the suspect's homes.

Ravish Rao Fakhoo and Kamlesh Mansingh were remanded in custody earlier in this week in connection with the death

Axcel Chenney, who works for L'Express newspaper in Mauritius, told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "Fakhoo, the first one to be arrested, admitted the crime yesterday, shortly after the arrest of a third suspect, Soneea, who is only 18 years old.

"The police have yet to communicate on how it happened but some of the information from the investigation has leaked."

'Police re-enactment'

He added: "Janice's mother has arrived in Mauritius and we know that she is planning to repatriate Janice's body to Scotland for her funeral.

"Janice had been planning to return to Scotland before her death."

The Mauritius Police Force has said the investigation is progressing and the suspects have been remanded until next week, when they are to appear again in court.

A police re-enactment is also expected to take place at the crime scene.

Ms Farman first visited Mauritius in 1999 and later went to live in the country after her first husband went there to work.

She had been working as the managing director of PECS (Mauritius) Ltd, a privately-owned group of companies providing data services.

She had recently moved to Albion, in the west of the island.

She was well known in Mauritius, making headlines when she adopted her son. The 10-year-old, who raised the alarm after the robbery by phoning a family friend, remains under the care of local child services.

A spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office said: "We are assisting the family of a British woman following her death in Mauritius, and are in contact with the local authorities."