The chief police medical officer in Mauritius has told the Michaela McAreavey murder trial that the cause of death was asphyxiation due to compression of the neck.
Giving evidence in the Supreme Court, the doctor told of performing an autopsy on 10 January 2011, the day of the murder.
He decided that the 27-year-old Co Tyrone woman had died as the result of pressure from the grip of a hand, as well as pressure from a forearm.
The doctor told the nine-member jury that the pressure had been applied for one to two minutes and gave further details of the evidence that led to his conclusion.
Asked by the prosecution lawyer if death could have been caused by ligature strangulation, using a belt, cloth, strap or string, the doctor ruled this out and said he was 100% sure this did not happen.
In response to a question from the foreman of the jury, the doctor said predicting time of death is not an exact science but he estimated that death took place between 2.30pm and 3pm on the day concerned.
Tomorrow is day 19 of the trial in which two local hotel workers Avinash Treebhoowoon, 31, and Sandip Moneea, 42, are accused of murdering Mrs McAreavey.
A projector and viewing screens will be used in the court to show CCTV footage to the jury.
Defence barrister Rama Valayden, representing Mr Moneea, asked for footage from 2.55pm to 3.30pm on the day of the murder, and 11am to 12pm the previous day.
Overnight media reports referred to the contents of the footage and in response today the Harte and McAreavey families issued a statement saying the couple featured in the images are not John and Michaela.
