The mother of an Irish woman who was raped and murdered while backpacking in India have said her killer “stole her” from family and friends.

Danielle McLaughlin, 28, from County Donegal, was found dead in a field in the western state of Goa in March 2017.

A post-mortem examination found brain damage and strangulation as the cause of death.

Vikat Bhagat was found guilty at the District and Sessions Court in south Goa, India, on Friday and could face life imprisonment, but prosecutors have asked for the death penalty.

His defence team appealed for leniency.

He will be sentenced next Monday.

Reacting to the guilty verdict on Friday, Danielle’s mother Andrea Brannigan told BBC News NI she was “glad and relieved it is over”.

“I am relieved that the person who killed my daughter has been convicted of her murder today,” she said.

“I lost my eldest daughter, she was stolen from us, she was stolen from her sisters and friends.

“She was also stolen the opportunity of becoming a mother herself.

“There was a lot stolen from us and from her”.

Ms Brannigan travelled to India for the verdict and said it was a difficult experience seeing the man who murdered her daughter in court.

“He [Vikat Bhagat] wouldn’t stare back at us, he wouldn’t look back at us,” she said.

While in India the family visited the field where Ms McLaughlin’s body was discovered.

“It was very hard, overwhelming and difficult but I am glad I went,” she said.

Ms Brannigan said her daughter never left her mind and she would always be remembered for her “spirit, kindness and laugh”.

Rape victims cannot usually be named under Indian law. Their identities are often hidden in a bid to protect them from being shunned in society.

In this case, Ms McLaughlin’s family have spoken to the media to raise awareness of her case.

Reading out a family statement after the verdict, Ms McLaughlin’s sister Joleen McLaughlin Brannigan, said justice had “finally been achieved”.

“There was no other suspect or gang involved in Danielle’s death and Bhagat was solely responsible for cruelly ending her beautiful life,” they said.

She said the family had endured what had been effectively an eight-year murder trial with many delays and problems.

“We have now lost nearly eight years of our lives fighting for Danielle and we are so thankful that we can now start grieving her immeasurable loss,” Ms McLaughlin Brannigan said.

“She made the most of her 28 years and lived every day to the fullest. She was so kind and always so happy. She didn’t deserve what he put her through.

“We now hope that not only that Danielle can rest in peace but that we, as a family, can have some peace and comfort knowing that the person who brutally raped and murdered our precious Danielle has been convicted.”

Ms McLaughlin, who grew up in Buncrana, travelled to India in February 2017.

She was there for two weeks before she was murdered.

The Liverpool John Moores University student had been staying in a beach hut with an Australian friend.

The pair had been celebrating Holi, a Hindu festival, in a nearby village.

She left the village at night and her body was found the next day by a local farmer in an isolated spot.

On Friday morning, Tánaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister) Simon Harris paid tribute to Ms McLaughlin’s family, in particular her mother “for her determination and resilience in the face of unimaginable tragedy”.

“While nothing can ease the pain of their loss, I hope that this verdict represents some closure for the family,” he said.

“May Danielle rest in peace.”

Ms McLaughlin, who had dual Irish and British citizenship, travelled to India using a British passport.

In 2018, the then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar met and apologised to her family after a misunderstanding about her citizenship.

Her body was brought home to Donegal with the help of the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust.

She is buried in her hometown of Buncrana in the Republic of Ireland.